On Monday evening, Hezbollah launched a barrage of approximately 35 rockets from Lebanon targeting the northern Israeli community of Ein Zeitim near Safed. As Jewish Israelis observed the Passover Seder meal, sirens wailed in Safed and neighboring towns.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) reported no casualties from the attack and responded by shelling the rocket launch sites. Israeli fighter jets also struck a Hezbollah position in southern Lebanon along with two additional buildings where Hezbollah operatives were known to be present, according to the IDF.
Following the airstrikes, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for firing “dozens” of Katyusha rockets towards an army headquarters in northern Israel. In a statement, Hezbollah stated that the attack was a retaliation against Israeli airstrikes targeting villages in southern Lebanon, specifically Srifa, Odaisseh, and Rab Tlatin.
Just hours before the rocket attack, a Hezbollah surface-to-air missile shot down an Israeli military drone over southern Lebanon. The Iran-backed terror group claimed to have brought down the Elbit Hermes 450 unmanned aerial vehicle above the Lebanese town of Aaichiyeh, approximately 13 kilometers from the Israeli border. In response, the IDF carried out airstrikes against the missile launch site utilized in the attack. The incident is currently under investigation.
Additional rocket sirens sounded in the border community of Arab al-Aramshe. Three rockets fired from Lebanon hit open areas near the town, but no injuries or damage were reported by the IDF.
Since October 8, Hezbollah and allied terror groups have initiated daily attacks against Israeli communities and military positions along the border using rockets, drones, anti-tank missiles, and other tactics. These attacks are claimed to be carried out in support of Gaza during the ongoing conflict.
The largely evacuated Bedouin town of Maj. (res.) Dor Zimel, who sustained critical injuries in a Hezbollah drone attack on April 17, passed away from his wounds on Sunday. Israel has threatened to intervene militarily to expel Hezbollah from the border if the terror group does not withdraw and continues to pose a threat to northern communities, from which approximately 70,000 residents have been evacuated due to the fighting.
The border skirmishes have so far resulted in eight civilian deaths on the Israeli side and the deaths of 11 IDF soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, though no casualties have been reported. According to Hezbollah, 285 of its members have been killed by Israel during the ongoing clashes, primarily in Lebanon but also in Syria. Additionally, 54 operatives from other terror groups, one Lebanese soldier, and at least 60 civilians have been killed in Lebanon.
