Israel hits hard in south following Hezbollah rocket and drone attack

On Saturday, Israel reported that its warplanes struck a significant military installation of Hezbollah in the al-Rihan area of Jezzine, located deep in southern Lebanon. This action came after Hezbollah launched 40 rockets and two suicide drones from Lebanese territory.

In retaliation, Hezbollah confirmed that it had launched “dozens of Katyusha rockets” at Israeli military artillery positions on Friday. This was in response to previous Israeli strikes in the southern region of Lebanon.

This ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, has been marked by nearly daily exchanges of fire across the border since Hamas initiated a conflict with southern Israel on October 7, leading to a war in Gaza.

Hezbollah stated that its rocket attacks targeted Israeli artillery units as a reaction to Israeli assaults on southern Lebanese villages and civilian dwellings.

The Israeli military acknowledged detecting approximately 40 projectiles fired from Lebanon, with some being intercepted. They reported no injuries and noted that they had earlier shot down two attack drones from Hezbollah.

Reports from Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency indicated that Israel had bombarded several villages near the Lebanese border.

The escalating conflict has resulted in at least 363 deaths in Lebanon, primarily among Hezbollah fighters, with at least 70 civilians also killed, according to an AFP tally.

On the Israeli side, the military reported the deaths of 10 soldiers and eight civilians, with tens of thousands of civilians having fled their homes on both sides of the border due to the hostilities.