The Israeli army announced that about 30 missiles were fired on Thursday night from Lebanon towards the north of the Hebrew state.
An army spokesman told Agence France-Presse in response to a question about this missile attack, “We can confirm that about 30 missiles were launched from Lebanon towards the Ein Zeitim and Dalton areas in northern Israel.”
Earlier Thursday, the Israeli army confirmed to Agence France-Presse that it had launched an air strike in southern Lebanon targeting a “leader” in Hezbollah, who it said was involved in the missile attacks launched by the party towards Israeli territory.
The Israeli confirmation came hours after a security source in Beirut announced that “an Israeli strike targeted the car of a military official in the southern region of Hezbollah, which led to his being seriously injured, and another person who was with him was injured” in the city of Nabatieh, relatively far from the border with Israel. Which has so far remained immune from escalation between the Hebrew state and the party since the outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip.
According to the Israeli army, the targeted leader was “involved in a number of (rocket) launching operations towards Kiryat Shmona and Metulla.”
The car was targeted on a main street in the city, which is located north of the Litani River and 12 km from the nearest border point with Israel. The military forces imposed a tight cordon at the site of the attack, according to an Agence France-Presse photographer in the city.
The official National News Agency in Lebanon reported that “an Israeli drone carried out an air attack at approximately four-and-a-quarter (14:15 GMT) this afternoon” on a four-wheel-drive vehicle at the eastern entrance to the city of Nabatieh, causing it to catch fire.
Video clips circulated on social media showed flames rising from the car.
There was no official comment from Hezbollah about the identity of the targeted person and his injury, but the party later claimed in a statement “targeting the Meron Air Base” with missiles in response to the Israeli bombing “on villages and civilians, the latest of which was the aggression against the city of Nabatieh.”
The party had announced in previous statements on Thursday that it had bombed Israeli sites, including the Maale Golan and Pranit barracks and a command headquarters in Kiryat Shmona, according to what it announced in several statements.
The Israeli army spokesman was unable to determine whether the targeted leader was involved in the bombing operations that targeted Israeli territory on Thursday.
The Israeli army also announced earlier Thursday that fighter jets attacked a series of Hezbollah targets, including “a truck loaded with combat weapons, terrorist infrastructure, and a military building” in Khiam, Nabatieh, and Kafr Hamam.
Since the outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip on October 7, the Lebanese-Israeli border has witnessed a daily exchange of bombing between Hezbollah and Israel, which has raised international fears of an expansion of the scope of escalation and prompted Western officials to visit Beirut and urge calm.
The party announces that it is targeting Israeli military sites and points in support of Gaza, and the Israeli army responds with air and artillery bombardment, which it says targets the party’s “infrastructure” and the movements of its militants near the border.
On January 8, Israel previously targeted the leader, Wissam Al-Tawil, while he was driving his car in his town of Khirbet Salam, which led to his death. He is considered the most prominent military leader in Hezbollah to be killed by Israeli fire since the bombing exchange began.
Since the start of the escalation, 227 people have been killed in Lebanon, including 166 Hezbollah fighters and 27 civilians, including three journalists, according to a tally compiled by Agence France-Presse. In Israel, the army counted the deaths of nine soldiers and six civilians.
The escalation prompted tens of thousands of residents on both sides of the border to flee their homes.
The commander of the Israeli Air Force, Tomer Bar, warned in statements published by the army on Thursday that if the war begins on the northern front, “there will be massive and major strikes, and hundreds of targets will be attacked simultaneously deep inside the country, as well as Tire, Sidon, Beirut, and the Bekaa.”
2024-02-10 13:08:51
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