Hezbollah pounds northern Israel with dozens of rockets as tensions escalate in the Middle East
Israeli fighter jets unleashed on Beirut in a ‘targeted strike’ of a Hezbollah stronghold after the terror group bombarded border towns.
World
Don't miss out on the headlines from World. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Israeli fighter jets pounded Beirut in a “targeted strike” of a known Hezbollah stronghold, according to the IDF.
A Lebanese security source added that the strike hit the group’s in the south of the Lebanese capital near the Al-Qaem mosque.
It is only the third time the IDF has targeted Beirut since the beginning of the war and comes after Hezbollah pounded northern Israel with 150 rockets.
The incoming fire came after the Israeli military said it struck dozens of rocket launchers overnight that were ready for use against Israel.
Hezbollah said it fired barrages of rockets at Israeli military bases in retaliation following Israel’s deadly blasts on pagers and walkie-talkies across Lebanon, which killed 37 people and wounded nearly 3,000 across two days.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed Israel would face “tough retribution” for the deadly device blasts that killed terrorists.
The group said it launched “salvos of Katyusha rockets” against at least six Israeli “army headquarters” and bases, including a “main air defence base”.
This is northern Israel right now following intensive Hezbollah rocket fire from Lebanon towards Israel.
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) September 20, 2024
Make no mistake: those who harm the people of Israel will pay the price. pic.twitter.com/dtXqXlL4Ub
Israel’s foreign ministry shared footage of “northern Israel right now following intensive Hezbollah rocket fire from Lebanon towards Israel.”
“Make no mistake: those who harm the people of Israel will pay the price,” it tweeted.
FOLLOW THE UPDATES:
SICKENING VIDEO EMERGES OF ISRAELI SOLDIERS
Israel’s military is investigating after disturbing footage emerged of an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank showing a soldier pushing an apparently dead man off a rooftop.
AFPTV footage of the operation in the town of Qabatiyah, near Jenin, on Thursday showed an Israeli soldier using his foot to roll the body towards the edge of the roof and then pushing him over, while at least two other soldiers looked on.
A soldier then picks up the hands of a second body while another soldier picks up the feet. They swing the body back and forth, then toss it over the side.
Finally, a soldier uses his feet to kick a third body over the side of the building.
Qabatiyah is located in the northern West Bank, where the military has been carrying out large-scale raids since late August, which the Palestinian health ministry said has left dozens dead.
The military said in a statement on Friday that four militants were killed “in an exchange of fire” in Qabatiyah, while three were killed in an air strike on a vehicle.
Asked about the footage, the military said it would investigate.
“This is a serious incident that does not coincide with (Israel Defense Forces) values and the expectations from IDF soldiers. The incident is under review,” it said.
Under international law, armed forces are required to treat enemy bodies with respect, prevent them from mutilation and return them to their families.
*The footage is distressing and for this reason we have opted not to show it.
‘THIS COULD BE WAR’ HEZBOLLAH’S THREAT AS ISRAEL STRIKES
Israeli warplanes carried out dozens of attacks across Lebanon’s southern border hours after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed Israel would face “tough retribution” for the deadly device blasts that killed terrorists.
On Friday morning (AEST), the Israeli army said it struck “hundreds of rocket launcher barrels” ready to be fired toward Israel as well as “approximately 100 launchers and additional terrorist infrastructure sites”, the army said in a statement.
There were more than 52 strikes from Israel, according to news agency NNA, with Lebanon security sources describing the attack as the heaviest aerial strikes since October.
In Hassan Nasrallah’s first speech since the attacks, he said the group suffered an “unprecedented” blow when about thousands of operatives’ communication devices exploded across Lebanon, which killed 37 people and wounded nearly 3,000 across two days.
As he delivered his televised address, Israeli warplanes broke the sound barrier over Beirut.
Nasrallah described the attacks as a “massacre” and a possible “act of war”, and said Israel would face “tough retribution and just punishment, where it expects it and where it does not”.
About 25 Hezbollah terrorists were killed in the blasts, with a source close to the group saying at least 20 had died when their walkie-talkies blew up.
The preliminary findings of a Lebanese investigation found the pagers had been booby-trapped, a security official said.
The country’s mission to the United Nations concurred, saying in a letter that the probe showed “the targeted devices were professionally booby-trapped... before arriving in Lebanon, and were detonated by sending emails to the devices”.
Israel has not commented on the attacks in which 5000 Hezbollah communication devices – 4000 pagers and 1000 walkie-talkies – exploded in supermarkets, on streets and at funerals.
But Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Wednesday, in reference to Israel’s border with Lebanon: “The centre of gravity is moving northward. We are at the start of a new phase in the war”.
More Coverage
Originally published as Hezbollah pounds northern Israel with dozens of rockets as tensions escalate in the Middle East