play videoplay video

Video duration 02 minutes 10 seconds 02:10

The Lebanese Hezbollah said that it bombed Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel twice with a number of Falaq missiles and dozens of Katyusha rockets, in response to Israeli raids on towns in southern Lebanon, which left several people dead, including a prominent leader in the party.

The party said that its bombing of Kiryat Shmona came as part of a response to the Israeli raids that targeted the city of Nabatieh and the town of Al-Sawaneh in southern Lebanon.

The party also announced that it carried out 8 operations against Israeli sites, and indicated that it bombed the sites of Birkat Risha, Al-Naqoura Al-Bahri, Ruwaisat Al-Alam, Al-Samaqa, Al-Rahab, Al-Marj, and the vicinity of the Zarait barracks, and the Zibdin barracks in the occupied Shebaa Farms.

Israeli Army Radio reported that 14 missiles targeted the city of Kiryat Shmona in the Upper Galilee, and that the sirens failed to detect two missiles that landed there.

Hezbollah fighters during a funeral procession for their comrades who were killed in an Israeli bombing in southern Lebanon (French)

Hezbollah mourned 8 of its fighters, saying they were martyred in southern Lebanon, including: Ali Muhammad al-Debs from the town of Balat in southern Lebanon, Hassan Ibrahim Issa from the town of Houmin al-Tahta, and Hussein Ahmed Aqeel from the southern town of al-Jabayn. They were killed last Wednesday, without adding further details. .

Thus, the number of Hezbollah deaths since the start of the military escalation with Israel on October 8 has risen to more than 200.

For its part, the Israeli army reported that it killed last Wednesday the main commander of the Radwan Force, Muhammad al-Debs, his deputy, Hassan Ibrahim Issa, and another member in a raid on a Hezbollah military building in Nabatieh, southern Lebanon, saying that al-Debs led, planned, and carried out many attacks against Israel, in particular During the war.

The Israeli army added that Al-Debs was one of the masterminds of the attack on the Megiddo Junction last March, when a person infiltrated from Lebanon and planted an explosive device before he was killed by gunfire during a chase.

The raid on Nabatieh also killed seven civilians from the same family, while a strike on the town of Al-Sowaneh killed three civilians, a woman and two children from the same family.

Smoke rises from a town in southern Lebanon after an Israeli raid (Getty)

Israeli raids

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera's correspondent reported that Israeli aircraft launched more than 15 raids on various areas of southern Lebanon, and also targeted the Wadi Saluki area with about 12 raids.

Israeli Channel 12 said that the Iron Dome intercepted a number of missiles over the city of Kiryat Shmona, which was bombed by a missile barrage, the second within a day from southern Lebanon.

Israeli Radio reported that the first attack on Kiryat Shmona came in 3 batches, as two anti-tank missiles were fired without activating the sirens, followed by a bombardment with 9 missiles, then a third round with 3 missiles. Israeli media announced that fires broke out in 3 buildings in the city, but there were no reports of human casualties.

The Israeli army said that its aircraft launched raids on two Hezbollah military buildings in Blida and Maroun al-Ras, southern Lebanon.

Qassem: Hezbollah will respond to every Israeli aggression targeting civilians in Lebanon (Al Jazeera)

A mutual feast

This comes at a time when Naim Qassem, Deputy Secretary-General of Hezbollah, said that the party will respond to every Israeli aggression targeting civilians in Lebanon, explaining that the party will announce this, and will say that it responded for the sake of civilians.

Naeem added at a party ceremony yesterday, Thursday, that the party’s work rules are his choice, and that the limited amount of confrontation currently is consistent with the requirements of the stage.

He stressed that the party is not subject to Western and Israeli intimidation, and that it will not back down from supporting Gaza at all costs. He also stressed that there will be no discussion about the future of southern Lebanon until the aggression against Gaza stops.

On the other hand, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said - during a military training exercise simulating a large-scale war in the north - that the army had escalated one degree out of 10 that it had with Hezbollah, and threatened that the planes now flying in the skies of Lebanon were carrying heavier bombs for more distant targets.

Gallant added that Israel has no interest in the war with Lebanon, but it is capable of doing in Beirut what it did in Gaza, and pointed out that Israel may pay a heavy price if the war occurs, but it will be disastrous for Lebanon and Hezbollah, as he put it.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies