Israeli airstrikes hit southern Lebanon, Hezbollah responds with rocket fire

A rocket barrage was launched from southern Lebanon toward Israel early Sunday, according to media reports.

Israeli Channel 14 reported that at least 50 rockets were fired toward the Upper Galilee.

Sirens were heard as a result of the launches.

Hamas and Iran have vowed to retaliate for the assassination of the group’s political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh earlier this week in the Iranian capital of Tehran, while Hezbollah pledged to respond to the killing of its commander, Faud Shukr in Beirut.

Earlier, Israeli airstrikes and heavy machine gun fire targeted several areas in southern Lebanon overnight, official Lebanese media reported.

The Lebanese National News Agency reported that “Israeli warplanes carried out an air raid on the outskirts of the Al Mahmudiyah area, followed by a second airstrike east of Kafr Rumman.”

Separately, four back-to-back airstrikes targeted the town of Kfar Kila in Marjayoun in the Nabatiyeh Governorate, it added.

The agency reported that Israeli forces launched incendiary bombs over border villages adjacent to the Blue Line and fired heavy machine guns toward the town of Aita al-Shaab in the central sector.

The agency did not give information on casualties or damage from the airstrikes.

In a statement, Hezbollah claimed that it had targeted Israeli surveillance equipment at the Ramyah site in northern Israel with appropriate weapons, achieving a direct hit and destroying equipment.

Anadolu’s correspondent in Lebanon reported a significant barrage of rockets launched from southern Lebanon toward Israel early Sunday.

The Israeli military issued a statement on Sunday claiming that about 30 rockets were fired from Lebanon towards the Upper Galilee.

According to the statement, most of the rockets were intercepted by air defenses, though one fell in the settlement of Beit Hillel without causing injuries.

Fears have grown about a full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah amid a months-long exchange of cross-border fire.

The escalation comes against the backdrop of an Israeli onslaught on Gaza, which has killed nearly 40,000 victims since October, following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.