Hezbollah said it fired missiles and drones at Israeli military bases in retaliation for recent attacks on Beirut and ongoing attacks in the south, where Lebanese authorities reported 11 deaths on Friday.
Israel has continued its attacks on Lebanon despite last month’s ceasefire, and on Wednesday it carried out its first attack in nearly a month on the capital’s southern suburbs, killing a senior Hezbollah commander.
Hezbollah said in a statement that the missile salvo targeted a base south of the Israeli city of Nahariya “in response to ceasefire violations by Israel’s enemies, attacks targeting southern suburbs of Beirut and affecting villages and civilians in southern Lebanon.”
Hours later, the Iran-backed group announced it had launched a fleet of drones from another base in northern Israel, saying they were also in response to an Israeli attack.
Air raid sirens sounded in several northern Israeli cities during the first strike, according to the Israeli military, which did not immediately comment on the second attack.
After the first wave of launches, the military said “one launch was intercepted and additional launches fell in open areas,” adding that no casualties were reported.
Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli attacks on four southern districts on Friday killed 10 people, including two children and three women.
Lebanon’s civil defense agency said earlier that one of its members was also killed in an Israeli attack in the south.
The Israeli military said one of its strikes in the south had hit a member of the Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese Resistance Brigade, adding that he also “served as a rescue worker.”
The Israeli military has issued evacuation warnings for seven towns in southern Lebanon, including Tula.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency also reported the attack near Nabishi in the east.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for several attacks on Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.
The terms of the ceasefire announced by the U.S. State Department allow Israel to take action in response to imminent or ongoing attacks.
– Upcoming talks –
The latest attack comes as Lebanon and Israel, officially at war since 1948, are due to hold direct talks in Washington next week.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met with delegation leader Simon Karam on Friday before departing for the United States, giving him “instructions outlining Lebanon’s firm position in the negotiations.”
The U.S. ambassadors of Lebanon and Israel have met twice in Washington over the past few weeks to try to end the war sparked by Hezbollah’s March 2 move to drag Lebanon into the Middle East conflict.
Hezbollah strongly opposes direct negotiations, calling it a “sin” and urging Beirut to withdraw its troops.
Israeli airstrikes have killed more than 2,750 people in Lebanon since March 2, including dozens since the ceasefire was announced.
Hajja Rabib, the EU’s crisis management chief, told reporters in Beirut that since the war broke out on March 2, the 27 EU member states have provided 100 million euros in aid and sent six planes to deliver humanitarian aid, and a seventh is expected to be sent on Saturday.
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This article was generated from automated news agency feeds without modifications to the text.
