Hezbollah fired ballistic missiles and explosive drones at Israeli positions on Sunday, while Israeli air raids shook many towns and villages in south Lebanon, escalating the violence near the border between the two countries.
Their deadliest hostilities since a 2006 battle broke out two months ago in Gaza, and Israel and Hezbollah, which Iran supports, have been exchanging fire ever since.
The border region is where most of the violence has occurred.
Five houses were demolished and several more damaged in an Israeli airstrike on the village of Aitaroun.
According to Hassan Fadlallah, a senior Hezbollah official, the party is reacting to the Israeli air raids with new kinds of operations, either in terms of the weaponry used or the places that were attacked.
Two “suspicious aerial targets” were intercepted by the Israeli army after they claimed earlier that they had crossed from Lebanon. Shrapnel and smoke inhalation caused significant wounds to two Israeli troops and minor injuries to many others, according to the report.
According to Beirut locals, two jets were seen swooping over a cloudless blue sky, trailing a plume of smoke behind them.
Hezbollah claims in its pronouncements that it is attacking the Gaza Strip to help the Palestinian people.
Beirut would be transformed “like Gaza” if Hezbollah initiated a full-scale assault, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for launching the drones into an Israeli command post near Ya’ara, one of many operations declared by the organization on Sunday. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the launch of two missiles, one of which was a Burkan (Volcano) missile carrying hundreds of kg of explosives.
Reports of Israeli airstrikes reached the Lebanese hamlet of Yaroun and its environs, close to another Israeli outpost that Hezbollah claimed to have attacked on Sunday.
In the neighboring community of Rmeich, those bombs shattered the windows of homes, businesses, and even a school.
Over 120 Lebanese have lost their lives due to border violence; among them are 85 Hezbollah members and 16 innocent bystanders. As a result of the fighting, seven Israeli troops and four civilians have lost their lives.
