Hezbollah claimed responsibility for attacks on troops and military targets in northern Israel on Monday, including a drone strike on a base and an attack on soldiers allegedly “infiltrating” near the Lebanese border.
The Iran-backed group has exchanged regular cross-border fire with Israeli forces in support of ally Hamas since the Gaza war broke out after the Palestinian group attacked Israel on October 7.
Fears of escalation had grown after an Israeli attack in Beirut’s southern suburbs last month killed one of Hezbollah’s top commanders, Fuad Shukr, while hours earlier Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an attack in Tehran that was blamed on Israel.
Iran and Hezbollah have vowed to respond.
Hezbollah said on Monday it launched simultaneous air strikes with explosives-laden drones on two Israeli military targets – a barracks near the border and a base near the coastal town of Acre, about 15 kilometers (10 miles) from the frontier.
He said the attack was “in response” to Israeli “attacks and killings” in the Tyre region of southern Lebanon.
A fighter from the group was killed in an Israeli attack in the area on Saturday.
The Israeli military said its aircraft “eliminated” a Hezbollah militant in the Tyre region, describing him as the “commander” of the group’s elite Radwan Force.
Overnight, Hezbollah said its fighters targeted a group of Israeli soldiers “infiltrating” near the border and “attacked them with rocket weapons and artillery, forcing them to retreat.”
On Monday morning, Hezbollah claimed to have attacked another Israeli barracks with rockets and artillery in retaliation for “attacks by the Israeli enemy.”
Cross-border violence has killed about 582 people in Lebanon, mostly Hezbollah fighters but also at least 128 civilians, according to an AFP count.
On the Israeli side, including the Golan Heights, 22 soldiers and 26 civilians have been killed, according to army figures.
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