Hezbollah Strikes Haifa, Threatens Attacks Across All of Israel

Hezbollah issued a strong warning on Tuesday, threatening to strike targets across Israel while vowing that it would not be defeated despite the ongoing heavy bombardment of its strongholds and leadership by Israeli forces.

In the latest developments of the conflict, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for launching rockets towards the northern Israeli city of Haifa. In response, Israel carried out airstrikes in several areas of Lebanon.

Hezbollah’s deputy chief, Naim Qassem, delivered a defiant speech, asserting that the group “will not be defeated” in its battle against Israel. “Since the Israeli enemy has targeted all of Lebanon, we have the right, from a defensive stance, to hit any location in Israel, be it in the center, north, or south,” Qassem declared. He also called for a ceasefire, stating, “The solution is a ceasefire.”

Iran, a key supporter of Hezbollah, has been involved in diplomatic efforts to broker a ceasefire in both Lebanon and Gaza, as concerns about a wider regional conflict escalate. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati told AFP that Lebanon is prepared to bolster its military presence in the south once a ceasefire is established. He also noted that Israeli forces have made brief incursions across the Lebanese border.

Amid these tensions, Israel has intensified its offensive in the Gaza Strip, where the United Nations warned on Tuesday that aid restrictions have reached their worst level since the conflict began over a year ago.

Israel is also contemplating its response to Iran’s October 1 missile attack, which involved about 200 missiles. This attack was a retaliation for an Israeli strike in Beirut that killed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Iranian General Abbas Nilforoushan on September 27.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office stated that Israel — not the United States — would decide how to retaliate. U.S. President Joe Biden, whose administration is Israel’s top arms supplier, has cautioned against striking Iran’s nuclear or oil facilities to prevent a broader war. However, according to a report in The Washington Post, Netanyahu assured the U.S. that Israel would only target military sites. A subsequent statement from Netanyahu’s office reaffirmed that while Israel listens to U.S. advice, it will make final decisions based on its own “national interest.”

Meanwhile, top Iranian commander Esmail Qaani, who had been absent from the public eye, appeared at the funeral of General Nilforoushan in Tehran, dispelling rumors of his death in an Israeli strike.

In Lebanon, Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday hit the eastern Bekaa Valley, putting a hospital in Baalbek out of service. Residents described it as one of the most violent nights since the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. An Israeli airstrike on the Christian-majority village of Aito on Monday reportedly killed 21 people, including 12 women and two children, according to the United Nations. The U.N. has called for a “prompt, independent and thorough investigation” into the strike.

The ongoing war in Lebanon has claimed at least 1,315 lives, according to Lebanese health ministry figures, though the actual toll is believed to be higher. The conflict has displaced at least 690,000 people, according to the International Organization for Migration. The Lebanese health ministry reported that 41 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Monday, bringing the total death toll since Israel’s intensified air campaign in Lebanon, which began on September 23, to 1,356.