Israel on Tuesday struck 10 “terrorist targets,” including a weapons depot for the pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement, killing one fighter from the group, the Israeli military (IDF) said.
The militant was killed in an attack on the village of Beit Leef in southern Lebanon, the IDF said. The Shiite militia’s 10 “terror targets” were attacked in various areas, it added.
“A weapons cache, terrorist infrastructure sites, military structures and a rocket launcher were hit in southern Lebanon,” the Israeli military said.
Hezbollah has confirmed the death of one of its fighters. The militia does not usually provide details about when, where or how its members died.
According to the state-run National News Agency (NNA), Israeli aircraft carried out airstrikes on an uninhabited house in an area between the towns of Jibsheet and Aadchit in southern Lebanon. They fired two rockets, causing significant damage.
According to Lebanese security sources, three Lebanese civilians were injured in an Israeli attack on Jibsheet.
In retaliation, Hezbollah said in a statement, “in response to the Israeli enemy attack on the town of Jibsheet that caused civilian casualties,” it fired a barrage of Katyusha rockets into northern Israel.
The Magen David Adom rescue service reported that a man in his 30s had died from serious injuries from rocket fragments. Earlier, there had been rocket alerts in towns on the border with Lebanon.
The IDF said about 10 rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israeli territory, the majority of which were intercepted. It identified a hit in HaGoshrim in northern Israel. The IDF said it was currently retaliating against the source of the attack.
Earlier, Israeli warplanes broke the sound barrier over the capital and its suburbs, causing panic among residents, locals and the official NNA news agency.
After a rocket attack on the Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on Saturday killed at least 12 children, the Israeli government is preparing a retaliatory strike.
Israel blames Iran-backed Hezbollah for the attack, but the Lebanese Shiite movement denies any involvement.
On Tuesday, the Islamic Republic rejected Israel’s accusation that Hezbollah was involved.
“Why would Hezbollah bomb an area where the people themselves are against the Zionist regime?” said Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s foreign policy adviser, referring to what Iran calls Israel.
Kamal Charrazi said the Israeli accusations were just an excuse to further escalate the military conflict in the region.
But the IDF said it had identified the deadly missile as an Iranian-made Falak-1.
Charrazi threatened that if Israel were to attack Lebanon now, it would have to prepare for “intensive counter-reactions”.
The best solution for Israel would be to end the war in Gaza immediately to prevent further killing and destruction, Charrazi said.
