Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah escalated dramatically on Sunday, with a fierce exchange of fire raising serious concerns of a full-blown war. The latest flare-up follows an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Friday that killed at least 45 people, sparking a wave of retaliatory attacks.
Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group, claimed responsibility for launching over 100 rockets across a wider and deeper area of northern Israel early Sunday morning. These rockets, including a new type of weapon called Fadi 1 and Fadi 2 missiles, targeted the Israeli Ramat David Airbase southeast of Haifa. Hezbollah justified its actions as a response to “repeated Israeli attacks that targeted various Lebanese regions and led to the fall of many civilian martyrs.”
Israel swiftly responded to Hezbollah’s barrage, striking targets in Lebanon, the military said in a statement. Israeli warplanes reportedly carried out the “most intense bombardment” in almost a year of war across Lebanon’s south, according to AFP news agency. The Israeli attacks came as Hezbollah was already reeling from a sophisticated attack that caused thousands of personal devices to explode just days earlier.
The escalating violence has sparked widespread fear of a full-scale war. The Israeli Defense Forces reported that hundreds of thousands of Israeli civilians spent the night hiding in bomb shelters as rockets rained down, with some hitting homes and triggering constant rocket alert sirens. Schools in northern Israel were closed, further highlighting the sense of crisis.
The current flare-up is an extension of the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza, which began on October 7th, 2023. Since then, both sides have engaged in a series of back-and-forth attacks, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people and displacing tens of thousands. The war in Gaza was triggered by Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel, which left over 1,200 people dead and led to the capture of over 250 hostages, including around 100 who are believed to be dead. Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that over 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in the ongoing conflict.
The Israeli airstrike in Beirut that sparked the latest escalation targeted Hezbollah military commanders, including Radwan Force chief Ibrahim Aqil, in the southern suburbs of the city. This incident further inflamed tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, which have been trading fire since the outbreak of the Gaza war.
The latest escalation underscores the fragile nature of the situation in the region and the high stakes involved. The international community is closely watching the developments and urging both sides to exercise restraint and pursue a diplomatic solution to end the violence.
