An excavator removes a charred car at the scene of a strike by Lebanon's Hezbollah in Kiryat Bialik in the Haifa district of Israel on Sept. 22, 2024. (Credit: Jack Guez/AFP)
On Sunday morning, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for several strikes on Israel's Haifa region using long-range missiles. This is the first time the party has targeted this part of Israel since the war of attrition between the two sides began on Oct. 8, 2023.
Following a day of violent Israeli attacks on Saturday, the Israeli army resumed its bombardment of southern Lebanon and the western Bekaa.
Here’s what's been happening.
Hezbollah strikes
Hezbollah announced three series of strikes carried out between 2 a.m. and 8 a.m. on Sunday.
The first two operations targeted the Ramat David base and airport, located southeast of Haifa, 45 kilometers from the Lebanese-Israeli border, using “Fadi-1 and Fadi-2” rockets. On July 24, Hezbollah posted an eight-minute video on its Telegram channel reportedly showing images taken by a drone it had flown over the Ramat David air base.
The third series of strikes, which added Katyusha rockets, targeted the headquarters of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, a military technology company in an industrial zone north of Haifa.
The strikes were described as a “first response” to Israel's attack on Hezbollah on Tuesday and Wednesday, by detonating pagers and walkie-talkies used by some members of the group for internal communication. At least 39 people were killed in the double-operation, including children, and thousands of people were injured.
On Sunday, in an interview on Sky News, Israeli President Isaac Herzog denied his country had any involvement in the operation, despite 12 current and former defense and intelligence officials who were briefed on the attack telling the New York Times exactly the opposite.
On Sunday morning, the Israeli army reported that 115 “air threats” were launched from Lebanon, most of which it says were intercepted, although some areas in the north were hit, according to reports in Israeli media.
During the night, the Israeli army noted that “several suspicious flying objects” were approaching from Iraq, but said they were intercepted without any reported injuries.
On Sunday morning, pro-Iranian armed groups claimed responsibility for drone strikes on Israel, saying that it was part of a "new phase of the support front," with Lebanon, and that its operations would continue.
Israeli reactions and responses
At around 8:30 on Sunday morning, the Israeli army reported that it was carrying out strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. L'Orient Today's correspondents in the region confirmed Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon and the western Bekaa.
According to Reuters, the Israeli army indicated that operations against Hezbollah would be intensified and strikes were soon reported in the districts of Nabatieh, Marjayoun, Jezzine, and Bint Jbeil. Lebanese authorities reported one dead and several wounded and Hezbollah had announced the death of two of its fighters.
At least three hits as a result of Hezbollah's attack were reported in northern Israel: a two-story building in Kiryat Bialik, in the northern suburbs of Haifa; a house in the village of Moreshet, about 17 kilometers east of Haifa; and a dairy farm in Beit Shaarim in the Jezreel Valley, about 18 kilometers southeast of Haifa.
Seven people were wounded and a teenager was killed when he lost control of his car during the sounding of alarm sirens.
The military's Home Front Command ordered schools in northern Israel to close until Monday evening and hospitals were also given instruction to transfer their operations to facilities with extra protection from rocket and missile fire.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant reiterated the Israeli military's recently instated military goal of shifting focus to the north, saying, as cited by Haaretz, "Our efforts against Hezbollah will continue until residents of Israel's north can return."
The latest wave of intensifying hostilities
Hezbollah's operations on Saturday night followed a day of intense Israeli bombardment.From morning until night, almost without interruption, the Israeli army targeted several regions of Lebanon, killing a Syrian man who had been working in the south and wounding four others, one of them seriously. This marked the most violent day for Lebanon in terms of Israeli strikes since Oct. 8, when Hezbollah opened a "support front" for its ally, Hamas, against Israel.
This escalation also comes on the heels of a particularly violent week, following an operation widely attributed to Israel that detonated pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah on Tuesday and Wednesday. The explosions resulted in 39 deaths and 3,000 injuries, according to the latest figures from the Lebanese Health Ministry.
On Friday, a violent Israeli airstrike rocked Beirut's southern suburbs, killing 48 people, including two high-ranking Hezbollah commanders, 15 Hezbollah fighters and members, and many civilians, including children and two families.
The latest international reactions:
"With the region on the brink of imminent catastrophe, it cannot be overstated enough: there is NO military solution that will make either side safer" wrote U.N. Special Coordinator in Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert on X.
