Hezbollah Strikes Israeli Mountain Base in Largest Air Assault

Hezbollah has announced its “largest” air operation, deploying explosive drones to target an Israeli military intelligence base on Mount Hermon in the annexed Golan Heights. This incident is part of the ongoing, intensifying cross-border clashes that have raised international concerns.

Since the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, triggering the conflict in Gaza, Hezbollah, supported by Iran and allied with Hamas, has been engaging in almost daily exchanges of fire with Israeli forces.

In a statement, Hezbollah detailed the operation, stating that it involved “multiple, successive squadrons of drones” aimed at the reconnaissance center on Mount Hermon. The Israeli military reported that an explosive drone landed in an open area on Mount Hermon without causing any injuries.

The escalating attacks and hostile rhetoric have heightened fears of a full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah, who last engaged in significant conflict in 2006. Hezbollah described the drone strike as retaliation for the killing of one of its operatives in an Israeli strike in eastern Lebanon, far from the border.

According to Hezbollah, the attack on Mount Hermon successfully targeted intelligence systems, causing significant damage and igniting a large fire.

Earlier on Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited troops stationed on Mount Hermon. Later, the Israeli military announced that its air defenses had intercepted several “aerial targets” that had crossed from Lebanon, following the sounding of sirens in the Golan Heights.

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967 and later annexed the territory, a move not widely recognized internationally.

The Israeli strike on Saturday reportedly killed a “key operative in Hezbollah’s Aerial Defense Unit,” according to the Israeli military.

Throughout Sunday, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for four additional attacks on Israeli military sites along the border, involving rocket barrages and guided missiles. Israeli reports indicated that four people were injured.

In a video message from Mount Hermon, Gallant stated that “even if there is a ceasefire” in Gaza, Israel would continue its efforts against Hezbollah to achieve its desired outcomes.

The cross-border conflict has resulted in the deaths of at least 497 people in Lebanon, including 95 civilians, as per an AFP tally. On the Israeli side, the violence has claimed the lives of at least 16 soldiers and 11 civilians. The ongoing hostilities have displaced tens of thousands of residents from the border regions in southern Lebanon and northern Israel.