Hezbollah launches massive 215 rocket barrage at northern Israel in retaliation for killing of senior commander
After Israel Defense Forces carried out an airstrike in southern Lebanon on Tuesday night, killing a senior Hezbollah commander, the terror group responded with one of the largest rocket barrages since the start of the Oct. 7 war in Gaza as Israelis celebrated the Shavuot holiday.
For the first time during the war, the city of Tiberias, which lies some 35 km (20 miles) from the Lebanese border, was also targeted by Hezbollah.
Sirens began sounding across northern Israel on Wednesday morning and continued throughout the day, with the rocket launches totaling around 215 in the evening.
A first volley of around 100 rockets targeted the area of Safed and the surroundings of the Sea of Galilee. The IDF said that several rockets were intercepted, while others fell in open areas and caused wildfires.
Another barrage of around 70 rockets targeted the area of Mount Meron, the site of a strategically important IDF radar base that has been targeted numerous times already.
The next volley was launched at Kibbutz Zar’it, with approximately 10 projectiles crossing into Israeli territory from Lebanon, several of which the IDF intercepted.
Then, an anti-tank missile hit a factory in Kibbutz Sasa, causing some damage, before a Hezbollah drone exploded in an open area near the town of Zivon.
Alarm sirens continued blaring across northern Israel almost at an hourly rate, with the rockets launched at Israel totaling some 215 in the evening.
While no injuries were reported as a result of the bombardment, Israel Fire and Rescue Services operated in multiple areas with up to 25 firefighting teams and eight planes to extinguish fires that broke out as a result of the launches.
The IDF immediately responded by shelling the launch areas with artillery.
After one of the volleys, Israel Air Force fighter jets struck the launcher used to fire projectiles from the area of Yaroun in southern Lebanon.
Later, four Hezbollah sites in the area of Yater, from which projectiles were fired at northern Israel, were also struck, as well as another launcher in the area of Hanin.
The massive barrage began Tuesday night, following the killing of Abdallah. Videos on social media showed Iron Dome aerial defense batteries engaging and destroying large numbers of incoming projectiles.
As of Wednesday afternoon, 12 firefighting teams continued to battle the flames in the Biriya Forest in northern Israel, alongside firefighting aircraft and teams from the Jewish National Fund (JNF), the Nature and Parks Authority, and the Israeli military.
According to reports, firefighters gained control over one of the fires near Kadita, after it damaged several homes and necessitated the evacuation of the residents.
In the evening, another fire broke out on the slopes of Mount Hermon, caused by shrapnel falling after the IDF shot down two more drones launched by Hezbollah.
