Hezbollah Launches Large-Scale Drone and Rocket Assault on Israeli Military Sites

Lebanon's Hezbollah launched a coordinated attack involving rockets and drones on nine Israeli military sites, escalating border hostilities. The attacks were in retaliation for an Israeli strike that killed a senior Hezbollah field commander. This marks the highest intensity exchange since the Gaza war began in October.

Lebanon's Hezbollah said on Thursday it had launched rockets and weaponised drones at nine Israeli military sites in a coordinated attack, ramping up hostilities on Lebanon's southern border for the second consecutive day.

The attacks were made in retaliation for an Israeli strike on Tuesday that killed a senior Hezbollah field commander. The group said in a statement it had fired volleys of Katyusha and Falaq rockets at six Israeli military locations. Its Al-Manar television reported more than 100 rockets fired at once.

Hezbollah's statement said it had also launched attack drones at the headquarters of Israel's northern command, an intelligence headquarters and a military barracks. A security source told Reuters that involved firing at least 30 attack drones at once, making it the group's largest drone attack to date in the eight-month-old war.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel have been trading fire since the eruption of the Gaza war in October, but the last two days have seen a sharp rise following the Israeli strike that killed the Hezbollah commander. The group said Thursday's attack was in response to the killing. It had already carried out at least eight attacks on Wednesday in retaliation.