Hezbollah Strikes Back

Hezbollah has launched a large-scale rocket and drone attack against Israel in response to the killing of its top commander Fuad Shukr.

An Israeli strike that targeted the suburbs of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on July 30 killed Shukr along with an advisor from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and five civilians.

The retaliatory attack began early on August 25 with Hezbollah firing more than 340 “Katyusha” rockets at the bases of Meron, Neve Ziv, Ga’aton, Za’oura, As-Sahl, Kela, Yoav, Nafah, Yarden, Ein Zeitim and Ramot Naftali, which are located in northern Israel and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

In an initial statement, the group said that it targeted the bases to “facilitate the passage of drones” towards their desired targets deep inside Israel. “And the drones have passed as planned.” The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that some 20 drones were launched during the attack.

Later one the same day, Hezbollah Secretary General revealed during a televised speech that the primary target of the attack was the Gelilot base, which hosts the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 8200 and is located near the city Tel Aviv in central Israel.

A key air defense base located near the settlement of Ein Shemer was also targeted, according to the Lebanese leader.

Hebrew media reported that a civilian woman was wounded. A number of mariners, reportedly five, were also wounded when a patrol boat of the Israeli Navy was hit by shrapnel from failed interceptions. This incident was allegedly caused by Hezbollah electronic warfare means.

From its side, the IDF said that it launched “pre-emptive” strikes against Lebanon after detecting preparations of a Hezbollah attack.

More than a hundred Israeli fighter jets took part in the pre-emptive strikes, according to the IDF, which alleged that “thousands” of Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon, some of which were aimed at northern and central Israel, were targeted.

Lebanese media reported intense Israeli strikes on multiple towns in the country’s south. Hezbollah mourned two of its fighters after the strikes. Another fighter from the Hezbollah-allied Amal Movement was also killed.

However, Nasrallah said that the strikes failed to thwart Hezbollah’s attack, rejecting that thousands of rockets were destroyed. The leader also said that “Israel failed to hit any of Hezbollah’s strategic or ballistic missiles” during its preemptive operation.

Israel showed no willingness to escalate after the attack. However, tensions on the Lebanese-Israeli border are still far from over. Hezbollah described its attack as just “an initial response” and the group has since continued to launch cross-border attacks in support of the Palestinian enclave in the Gaza Strip. The IDF also continues to bombard southern Lebanon on a daily basis.

Mirrored - South Front