Hezbollah launched more than 100 rockets into northern Israel early Sunday, with some landing near Haifa, as hundreds of airstrikes were launched from Israel on Lebanon. A senior Hezbollah leader declared it an “open-ended battle of reckoning.”
The rocket barrage came in retaliation for Israeli attacks in Lebanon on Friday that have killed at least 45, including a veteran Hezbollah commander, several fighters, women, and children. Israel had also targeted the group's communications devices in an unprecedented strike. Air raid sirens blared across northern Israel, sending hundreds of thousands into shelters.
Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service reported four individuals were wounded by shrapnel. Lebanon's Health Ministry reported three deaths and four injuries in Israeli strikes near the border but did not specify whether the victims were civilians or militants.
Hezbollah’s deputy leader, Naim Kassem, declared the group was in an “open-ended battle of reckoning” with Israel, warning of further displacement for residents in northern Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to take whatever measures necessary to restore security in the north and allow civilians to return home.
The Israeli military stated that it conducted strikes across southern Lebanon in the past 24 hours, targeting around 400 militant positions, including rocket launchers. Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesman, claimed these strikes had prevented a larger attack. The military also intercepted several aerial devices fired from Iraq, after Iran-backed groups in the region claimed responsibility for a drone attack on Israel.
Schools across northern Israel were canceled, and hospitals began relocating operations to protected areas in response to the rising threat. Meanwhile, Israeli forces raided Al-Jazeera's West Bank bureau, which had been banned earlier this year on accusations of supporting militant groups—a charge the broadcaster denies.
