Hezbollah Strikes Deep in Northern Israel in Retaliation for Baalbek Member’s Death

Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel on Sunday in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike that killed one of its members near Baalbek on Saturday.

In a statement, Hezbollah announced it had launched dozens of Katyusha rockets at the Nimra military base west of Tiberias, which it described as a key base in Israel’s northern region. Earlier, the group claimed to have destroyed espionage equipment at the al-Raheb Israeli post using appropriate weapons.

Following the attack on Nimra, Israeli airstrikes targeted a house in Maaroub in the Tyre district and several border towns. The Israeli army confirmed that the Hezbollah operative killed in the airstrike was part of their air defense unit.

Since Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, Hezbollah has engaged in near-daily exchanges of fire with the Israeli military across Lebanon’s southern border. An Israeli drone strike near Baalbek on Saturday killed a Hezbollah operative involved in planning and executing attacks against Israel and building the group’s arsenal of Iranian weapons. Hezbollah identified the operative as Maitham al-Attar.

Recent Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon have killed two senior Hezbollah commanders, prompting the group to respond with rocket attacks on northern Israel. While these cross-border exchanges have mostly been confined to border areas, Israel has frequently struck deeper inside eastern Lebanon.

Hezbollah continues its attacks in support of Gazans and Hamas, actions that began on October 8. The escalating violence has raised concerns about a potential all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah, reminiscent of their 2006 conflict.

So far, the cross-border exchanges have resulted in at least 497 deaths in Lebanon, mostly fighters but also 95 civilians, according to an AFP tally. On the Israeli side, authorities report the deaths of at least 16 soldiers and 11 civilians.