Israel | At least 160 projectiles launched by Hezbollah

(Jerusalem) Anti-aircraft warning sirens were triggered on Sunday in many regions of Israel, the target of at least 160 projectile attacks by Hezbollah from Lebanon, according to the Israeli army, at war with this Islamist movement Lebanese.

In a statement, Hezbollah said it had “launched, for the first time, an air attack using a swarm of combat drones on the Ashdod naval base” in southern Israel.

Later in the day, the pro-Iranian movement added that it had fired “a salvo of advanced missiles and a swarm of combat drones” on a “military target” in Tel Aviv (Center) and missiles on the base of the military intelligence from neighboring Glilot.

Asked by AFP, the Israeli army did not comment on these statements.

Air raid sirens sounded throughout the day in multiple regions of the country, including in the greater suburbs of Tel Aviv.

“Approximately 160 projectiles fired by the Hezbollah terrorist organization entered Israel from Lebanon,” the army then said in a statement, which assured that some had been intercepted.

According to first aid and hospital organizations, at least 11 people were injured, including a man in his sixties in “moderate to serious” condition.

The large volleys of fire follow at least four Israeli strikes in central Beirut last week, one of which killed Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif.

In a speech given on Wednesday, the leader of the Lebanese Islamist movement, Naïm Qassem, declared that the response to the recent strikes on the capital should be “awaited in the center of Tel Aviv”.

The Lebanese army, for its part, said that one soldier was killed on Sunday and 18 others were injured, “some seriously, following an Israeli attack targeting a Lebanese army center in Amriyeh », in southern Lebanon.

Although the Lebanese army is not a party to the war between Israel and Hezbollah, Israeli strikes have killed 19 Lebanese soldiers in the past two months, according to authorities.

Israel launched massive strikes in Lebanon on September 23 against Hezbollah which, after the attacks of October 7, 2023, had opened a “support front” for Hamas by firing rockets into Israeli territory.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry estimates that at least 3,670 people have been killed in the country since October 2023, most since September of this year.

On the Israeli side, 82 soldiers and 47 civilians were killed in 13 months.

Two Israeli strikes hit southern suburbs of Beirut

Two Israeli strikes hit the southern suburbs of Beirut on Sunday, Lebanese state media said.

“Israeli warplanes launched two violent strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut, in the Kafaat sector,” said the Lebanese National News Agency (ANI).

The raids “caused massive destruction in a large geographical area” of Kafaat district, ANI added.