Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed group allied with Iran, has claimed responsibility for an assault on a military installation in northern Israel, inflicting injuries on at least 14 Israeli soldiers. The attack, executed with guided missiles and explosive drones, was a retaliatory measure against Israeli strikes that resulted in the demise of Hezbollah members.
The Israeli military reported that 14 soldiers sustained injuries in the Wednesday attack, with six of them being in critical condition. The military also claimed to have retaliated by striking the attack’s origin. This incident unfolded a day after Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon claimed the lives of three individuals, among them a Hezbollah field commander, Ismail Yusaf Baz, according to the Israeli army. Hezbollah, in turn, reported that three of its members had perished in the strikes. Local Israeli authorities confirmed that three civilians were injured by a strike originating from Lebanon earlier on Tuesday.
This escalation comes amidst a series of tit-for-tat strikes between Israel and Hezbollah since October 7, which have been raising concerns about the spread of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The ongoing conflict has resulted in the deaths of at least 370 individuals in Lebanon, primarily Hezbollah fighters but also at least 70 civilians, according to an AFP tally. The Israeli military reports 10 soldiers and eight civilians killed near the northern border.
Regional tensions have been running high following Iran’s direct attack on Israel over the weekend in response to the deadly strike on Tehran’s Damascus consulate, widely attributed to Israel. On Tuesday, Israel reported the deaths of two local Hezbollah commanders and another operative in their retaliatory strikes, while Hezbollah confirmed the loss of three members during their rocket launches in response. Hezbollah maintains that its attacks on Israel are in support of Gazans and their ally Hamas, while Israel has been targeting the group’s commanders.
