Hezbollah Resumes Rocket Attacks on Israel Amid Rising Tensions

Hezbollah forces renewed rocket and artillery strikes against Israel following the killing of their military commander in Beirut. The conflict has intensified, with exchanges over the past 10 months mostly concentrated along the border but now threatening regional stability. Both sides have experienced casualties and continue to blame each other for escalations.

Hezbollah forces on Friday resumed rocket and artillery attacks against Israel, breaking a brief lull along the border after Israel killed the Lebanese group's military commander in Beirut. Hezbollah claimed it fired a surface-to-air missile at an Israeli warplane in Lebanese airspace overnight, forcing it to retreat. Additional artillery and rocket attacks targeted military positions in northern Israel.

The Israeli military intercepted an aerial target from Lebanon over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, according to a statement. Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire hit several southern Lebanese villages on Friday, Lebanese state media reported, a day after an Israeli strike killed at least five Syrian migrant workers in the region, according to medics.

The Israeli military also reported striking two Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon. On Thursday, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah had called for calm along the border following the Israeli airstrike in Beirut that killed military commander Fuad Shukr, along with an Iranian military adviser and five civilians. Nasrallah indicated that Hezbollah would retaliate but needed to deliberate their response while continuing usual military operations against Israel.

For nearly 10 months, Hezbollah and the Israeli military have exchanged fire amid the Gaza war, typically concentrating their actions along the border. However, recent strikes threaten to escalate the conflict into a full-scale regional war. Israel and the United States have accused Hezbollah of killing 12 youths in a July 27 rocket attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, an allegation that Hezbollah denies. The United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, confirmed it did not investigate the incident as it falls outside its operational mandate.