Israel-Hezbollah Clashes: Latest Updates: 9/9/2024

Hezbollah announced on Monday that it had successfully targeted Israel’s Ma’ayan Baruch military post near the Lebanon-Israel border using precise weaponry. On the same day, the Israeli army reported that four drones penetrated Israel’s airspace in the Western Galilee region; three were intercepted, and the fourth struck a tall building in Nahariyya. According to Israel’s Channel 12, this drone was likely aimed at military bases south of Nahariyya.

Hezbollah also took responsibility for launching suicide drones at the Shraga barracks north of Akka, a retaliation they claimed for an airstrike on Khirbet Selm. In addition, they launched Katyusha rockets at the Ya’ara barracks in northern Israel and fired a surface-to-air missile at an Israeli warplane over Lebanon, forcing it to retreat.

Channel 12 added that 15 rockets were launched from Lebanon toward Israel’s Western Galilee. In response, Israeli forces conducted mortar and artillery shelling targeting the southern Lebanese towns of Kfarkela, Zibqin, and Yater, and Israeli warplanes raided the town of Hanine in Bint Jbeil, injuring four people. A drone strike also hit Hanine at dawn.

This escalation followed the outbreak of war in Gaza, triggered by a surprise attack by Hamas into Israel on October 7. Hezbollah, aligned with Hamas and both supported by Iran, began its assaults on Israel shortly thereafter.

The conflict has resulted in significant casualties and displacement: approximately 614 people have died in Lebanon, mostly fighters but including 138 civilians, and on the Israeli side, there have been at least 24 soldiers and 26 civilians killed. The violence has also displaced tens of thousands on both sides of the border, with Israel vowing to secure the return of its citizens through military or diplomatic means.