Hezbollah fires more than a hundred rockets at Israel, provoking retaliation
The Israeli military said the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah fired more than 100 rockets into northern Israel on Tuesday morning. It was one of the heaviest barrages in months of cross-border strikes that have fueled fears that the war in Gaza could spread to another front.
It was not immediately clear how many of the rockets landed or were intercepted by Israeli air defenses. The Israeli military said its fighter jets retaliated by attacking three launchers used to fire rockets into the Golan Heights.
In a statement, Hezbollah said it launched the salvo in response to the Israeli army Strikes Monday in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley and as a show of support for the Palestinians in Gaza.
The group is a key ally of Hamas, whose October 7 attacks on Israel led to the war in Gaza. On Tuesday, Hezbollah said its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, had met with top Hamas officials to “discuss ongoing negotiations to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and meet the resistance’s terms.”
One of those officials was Khalil al-Hayya, who led the Hamas delegation during recent ceasefire talks in Cairo. The United States, Egypt and Qatar had pushed for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas before the start of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, on Monday, but negotiations stalled.
Since the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, Hezbollah has fired rockets into northern Israel almost every day. The Israeli army regularly responds with attacks on Hezbollah-affiliated targets in Lebanon.
Both Hezbollah and Hamas are backed by Iran, and clashes along Israel’s border with Lebanon have raised concerns that the war in Gaza could spiral into a broader regional conflict.
The violence has displaced about 80,000 Israelis from areas near the border with Lebanon; a similar number of Lebanese have fled their homes on the other side.
Israeli leaders have said there are only two options to restore calm in the conflict with Hezbollah: a diplomatic deal that moves the militant group’s forces further from the border, or, failing that, a major military offensive aimed at achieving the same goal.
Euan district reporting contributed.