Hezbollah fired more than 100 rockets into northern Israel on Sunday in response to a series of Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon, pushing both sides closer to the brink of full-scale war.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) airstrikes targeting Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon killed dozens, including one of the group’s top commanders, Ibrahim Akil.
Hezbollah’s deputy leader, Naim Kassem, said Sunday’s rocket attack was just the beginning of what’s now an “open-ended battle” with Israel.
Israeli security forces work at a house hit by a rocket fired from Lebanon, in Kiryat Bialik, northern Israel, on Sunday. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
At Akil’s funeral, Kassem vowed Hezbollah would continue military operations against Israel but also warned of unexpected attacks “from outside the box,” pointing to rockets fired deeper into Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would take whatever action was necessary to restore security in the north and allow people to return to their homes.
“No country can accept the wanton rocketing of its cities. We can’t accept it either,” he said.
Israel’s military chief, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, told reporters the army is prepared to increase pressure on Hezbollah in the coming days, adding, “We have many capabilities that we have not yet activated.”
ISRAELI AIRSTRIKES CONTINUE ON TERRORIST TARGETS, ROCKET LAUNCHERS IN SOUTHERN LEBANON
The Israeli military said it struck about 400 militant sites, including rocket launchers, across southern Lebanon in the past 24 hours, thwarting an even larger attack.
“Last night, hundreds of thousands of Israelis woke up to rocket sirens as Hezbollah launched over 20 rockets towards northern Israel that left communities in ruins,” IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said. “This attack could have caused much more damage, but we were able to minimize their attack with a preemptive strike on rocket launchers across southern Lebanon.”
The latest tit-for-tat between Israeli forces and Hezbollah comes as Lebanon is still reeling from a wave of explosions that hit pagers and walkie-talkies belonging to Hezbollah members on Tuesday and Wednesday. The explosions killed at least 37 people and wounded about 3,000. The attacks were widely blamed on Israel, which hasn’t confirmed or denied responsibility.
Israeli security and rescue forces work at the site hit by a rocket fired from Lebanon, in Kiryat Bialik, northern Israel, on Sunday. (AP Photo/Gil Nechushtan)
Israeli forces have been trading fire with Hezbollah fighters almost daily since Oct. 8, the day after Hamas militants stormed into Israel, killing nearly 1,200 people and taking another 250 as hostages. Hezbollah leadership has said its attacks on Israel are in solidarity with its ally Hamas in Gaza.
IDF SAYS KEY HAMAS OPERATIVE KILLED IN GAZA, FOLLOWING CRIPPLING STRIKE ON HEZBOLLAH
The low-level fighting has killed dozens in Israel, hundreds in Lebanon and displaced tens of thousands on both sides of the frontier. But the fighting has intensified in recent weeks, with Israel shifting its focus from Gaza to Lebanon. Some have expressed concerns that the fight against Hezbollah will strain resources and complicate prospects for an already elusive cease-fire deal.
Retired Army Brig. Anthony Tata told “Fox & Friends” that the conflict would only grow and chided the Biden administration for what he deemed a lack of “moral clarity.”
Hezbollah members salute near the coffin of Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Akil during the funeral procession in Beirut’s southern suburb Sunday. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
“It’s critical that Netanyahu keeps his eye on the main fight, which is Hamas, and he eliminates Hamas,” Tata said. “The main effort is still Hamas. And I think what they have to do is hold what they’ve got and hold off Hezbollah until they finish up Hamas, and then they can move to the north and … destroy Hezbollah. You can’t do two things at once equally well.”
Asked Sunday if he was worried about rising tensions in the Middle East, President Biden said, “Yes, I am.”
“But we’re going to do everything we can to keep a wider war from breaking out. And we’re still pushing hard,” Biden added.
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Hamas is still holding around 100 captives from its attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, a third of whom are believed to be dead. More than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said Sunday it intercepted multiple aerial devices fired from the direction of Iraq after Iran-backed militant groups there claimed to have launched a drone attack on Israel.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.