Hezbollah fires biggest barrage of war, Israel threatens to take territory, and latest strikes
Israeli strikes targeted Thursday several towns in south Lebanon including Haris, Kafra, Alma al-Shaab-Naqoura, Deir Ntar, Barish, Yater, Qantara, Qaaqaiyyet al-Jesser, Teffahta, Qana, al-Sultanieh, Taybeh, Qabrikha and Kfardounin.
In east Lebanon, Israeli strikes targeted Qsarnaba and Douris after warning residents to evacuate.
The strikes on the south killed four people, raising Thursday's death toll to 21, 4 in south Lebanon, 5 in an earlier strike on Aramoun and 12 in a strike on Ramlet al-Bayda in the heart of Beirut. More than 31 people were injured.
- 'Biggest barrage' of war -
The Israeli military said on Thursday that Hezbollah had fired around 200 rockets at Israel the night before, in what it described as the Lebanese armed group's "biggest barrage" since the war began.
"Last night, Hezbollah timed a simultaneous attack with Iran, firing rockets and drones at towns and communities across Israel. The numbers (are) about approximately 200 rockets, approximately 20 UAVs (drones) and combine those with ballistic missiles that were being fired from Iran in the same time," military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told journalists in a briefing.
"This was Hezbollah's biggest barrage" since the start of the war, he said, but added "we had a good aerial defense and rapid response, resulting in minimal casualties, only two or three direct hits... and a few civilians that were lightly injured".
It was a sleepless night for many Israelis as Hezbollah's rockets targeted the country’s north and deeper into Israel.
"The noise was extraordinary, it was really scary," said Naama Porat, a resident of the rural community of Klil, some 15 kilometers from the Lebanese border. As the sound of explosions and interceptions rang out, she dashed with her son to a shelter and spent the night there.
No serious injuries were reported, but the extent of the fire shook residents of the north, who have repeatedly been told by their leaders that Hezbollah was dealt a devastating blow in 2024 during its last war with Israel.
"They have stocks of weapons and it just doesn’t end. We don’t know how much and what to expect," Porat said.
- Israel threatens to take territory -
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday that he had ordered the military to prepare for expanding operations in Lebanon.
"The Prime Minister and I have instructed the IDF to prepare for expanding IDF operations in Lebanon and for restoring quiet and security to the northern communities," Katz was quoted as saying in a statement.
"I warned the President of Lebanon that if the Lebanese government does not know how to control the territory and prevent Hezbollah from threatening northern communities and firing toward Israel -- we will take the territory and do it ourselves," Katz said in a situation assessment, according to the statement from his ministry.
Source: Agence France Presse, Naharnet, Associated Press
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