Interceptors have been activated in northern Israel as the Lebanese-based armed group Hezbollah launched a barrage of rockets across the border, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in the early hours of Sunday.
Air-raid sirens were activated at around 1:10am in Haifa, Nazareth, Afula, and the Lower Galilee, according to the Jerusalem Post.
The IDF said Hezbollah launched a total of 24 rockets in three waves, and all of them were intercepted.
One of the rockets reportedly fell in the Nazareth area. A 60-year-old man was lightly wounded by shrapnel in the Lower Galilee, according to MDA, Israel’s emergency medical and disaster services organization.
Another rocket or fragments reportedly fell in the Lower Galilee and Krayot area, near Haifa.
Lebanese TV channel Al Mayadeen cited a Hezbollah spokesperson as saying the group fired dozens of Fadi-1 and Fadi-2-type rockets at Israel’s Ramat David Airbase in response to the Jewish state’s earlier airstrikes on Lebanon.
Israeli Army Radio later confirmed that Hezbollah targeted Ramat David and said the IDF was responding with strikes in southern Lebanon.
The barrage marks the latest round of escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, which has been carrying out cross-border attacks in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza.
The IDF said it struck around 180 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon throughout Saturday, destroying “thousands of launcher barrels ready for immediate use against Israel civilians.”
Israeli jets struck a suburb of Beirut on Friday, killing several high-ranking Hezbollah commanders. According to the Lebanese authorities, 37 people were killed.
“We will continue operating against Hezbollah until we achieve our mission: ensuring the safe return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Friday.
The blasts were condemned by UN officials, as well as by Russia and China, as indiscriminate.