Israel launches ‘extensive’ strikes on Lebanon after woman killed in rocket attack
Israel has launched an “extensive wave of attacks” on Lebanon after a woman was killed and several others injured in a rocket attack on northern Israel.
In a statement, the IDF said fighter jets had struck “terror targets” in the areas of Jabal el Braij, Houneh, Dunin, Aadchit and Souaneh.
“Among the targets struck were military compounds, operational control rooms, and terror infrastructure used by Hezbollah terrorists,” they added.
Hezbollah, a heavily armed Shia Muslim group that has fought several wars with Israel, is thought to have carried out the attack in northern Israel but has not yet claimed responsibility.
Separately, one person was killed and 10 others wounded on Wednesday in a strike that damaged shops and homes in the southern Lebanese village of Adsheet, state-run National News Agency reported.
Ilana Stein, an Israeli government spokesperson, told journalists on Wednesday that “numerous launches” identified as coming from Lebanon on Wednesday morning had left one Israeli woman dead and another eight hospitalised.
“As we have made clear time and time again, Israel is not interested in a war on two fronts. But if provoked, we will respond forcefully,” she said.
“The current reality, where tons of thousands of Israelis are displaced and cannot return to their homes, is unbearable. They must be able to return home and live in peace and security.”
Hezbollah and the Israeli military have been exchanging fire for more than four months, after the Lebanese armed group launched rockets across the disputed frontier in support of Hamas.
The conflict erupted on October 7 last year, when Hamas fighters stormed into Israel and killed more than 1,200 civilians and captured hundreds of hostages.
On Tuesday, Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said that his group would only stop its exchanges of fire if a full ceasefire was reached for Gaza.
“When the shooting stops in Gaza, we will stop the shooting in the south,” he said.
More than 200 people have died in Lebanon due to cross-border shelling, including more than 170 Hezbollah fighters. It has also displaced tens of thousands of people in the border areas of each country.
The latest strikes come as tensions across the Middle East grow. Last month, a drone attack last month killed three US troops in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian border, while Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have attacked vessels passing through the Red Sea.
Since November, the Houthis have repeatedly targeted ships in the region over Israel’s invasion of Gaza, imperilling a key route for trade between Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
Source » msn.com
