“Dozens” of rockets were fired into northern Israel from Lebanon overnight, according to the Israeli military, as Hezbollah targeted industrial and military sites.
Most of the 105 rockets were intercepted, although some homes were hit. Air raid sirens sounded throughout the night, the Israel Defense Forces said.
Hezbollah said it has fired a number of rockets at targets in northern Israel in retaliation for the pager and walkie-talkie attacks last week.
Israel also continued to attack targets in Lebanon following Friday’s strike in Beirut in which the IDF said it killed a dozen Hezbollah commanders. Lebanon said 37 people – including three children – had died.
A video posted online overnight, so far unconfirmed by the BBC, appears to show a fire in a residential area near Haifa after it was hit by a Hezbollah rocket.
On Saturday, dozens of warplanes began “mainly” attacking southern Lebanon “following the discovery of Hezbollah preparing to fire at Israeli territory,” said Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari.
Before the Israeli strikes began this evening, the IDF said it had previously destroyed “about 180 sites and thousands of [rocket] launcher barrels” with strikes
Earlier this week, 39 people were killed and thousands injured after pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militia and political group, it exploded two days across Lebanon.
On Thursday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah blamed Israel for the attack, saying it crossed “all red lines” and vowed it was “just punishment”.
Israel did not claim responsibility.
UN human rights chief Volker Türk said the pager and walkie-talkie blasts violated international humanitarian law.
On Sunday morning, the IDF announced the extension of new restrictions on communities in northern Israel and parts of the southern Golan Heights that went into effect at 20:30 local time (17:30 GMT) the previous night.
The IDF’s Home Front Command is limited to gatherings of 10 participants in an open area and 100 participants in a closed area. Academic activities can continue and commuting to work is permitted as long as there are safe spaces available.
Restrictions apply in the Haifa area and north.
As fears grow that the conflict could erupt into full-scale war, the US State Department has issued new travel advisories for citizens currently in Lebanon.
The US embassy in Beirut urged people to “leave Lebanon while commercial options are still available”, noting that they are already operating at a “reduced capacity”.
The embassy added that it “may not be able to help US citizens who choose to stay”.
Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued similar advice to its citizens, urging those in Lebanon to leave as soon as possible.
Border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah escalated on October 8, 2023 – the day after Israel attacked Hamas gunmen in Gaza – when Hezbollah shelled Israeli positions in coordination with the Palestinians.
Israel recently increased the return of displaced people from the north of the country because of border fighting in its list of war terms.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Thursday that Israel is entering the “a new phase of war” it is concentrating its efforts in the north.
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