TELAVIV, Israel: Rockets launched by the Lebanese Hezbollah group at northern Israel posed a threat to “strategic sites” and facilities in the country, according to an Israeli official cited by Haaretz on Wednesday.
Fire and Rescue Services North District Commander Yair Elkayam reported that teams from the Fire Authority, the Nature and Parks Authority, and the Israeli army were close to gaining control of fires in the northern towns of Biriya, Kadita, Ein Zeitim, and Tziv’on.
The Israeli army announced late Wednesday that three fires broke out in northern Israel due to the interception of suspicious aerial objects launched from Lebanon. The army stated on X (formerly Twitter) that air defences and fighter jets intercepted two suspicious aerial objects over the Mount Hermon area, causing a fire due to shrapnel. Another interception missile exploded in the sky over the Safed area, causing a fire from rocket shrapnel.
Israeli Army Radio reported that around 215 rockets and drones were fired by Hezbollah from southern Lebanon into northern Israel since Wednesday morning. This marked the largest attack since the outbreak of cross-border clashes between the two sides last October.
The escalation followed the death of four Hezbollah fighters, including a senior commander, in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon on Tuesday night.
Hezbollah and Israeli forces have been launching cross-border attacks, which has increased tensions along Lebanon’s border with Israel.
This escalation comes as Israel continues its offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has resulted in the deaths of over 37,200 people mostly women and children since a cross-border attack by Hamas on October 7.
