BEIRUT, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), The military escalation between Israel and Lebanon continued on Tuesday, as Hezbollah announced a series of rocket and drone attacks targeting Israeli military positions and troops, including a well-planned ambush against a unit of Israeli occupation forces (IOF) in southern Lebanon.
In multiple statements, Hezbollah said its fighters carried out three separate operations against Israeli military sites and troop gatherings, describing the attacks as a response to Israeli airstrikes that have targeted dozens of Lebanese towns, villages and Beirut’s southern suburb.
According to the group, at around 10:00 a.m. on Monday its fighters launched a swarm of loitering drones against the Tsnobar base east of Haifa, roughly 35 kilometers from the Lebanese border, marking the first time the site has been targeted in the current confrontation.
Hezbollah also reported striking a gathering of IOF troops in the al-Khanouq area near the town of Aitaroun using artillery shells. Minutes later, it launched a rocket barrage toward another IOF troop concentration at Kamil Hill on the eastern outskirts of Maroun al-Ras.
In a parallel development, the group said its fighters confronted an attempted advance by IOF units on the southern outskirts of the town of Khiam near the detention facility there. Hezbollah claimed its fighters directly hit two Merkava tanks, one of which was seen burning.
The group added that as Israeli forces attempted to evacuate the damaged tanks, Hezbollah fighters targeted the rescue unit “with appropriate weapons,” leading to what it described as intense clashes with the advancing force.
In a later statement, Hezbollah said it lured an Israeli force into a “tight ambush” as it attempted to retrieve casualties from the battlefield in the town of Khiam. During the confrontation, a third Merkava tank was reportedly struck and seen burning.
Attacks deep inside Israel
Hezbollah also announced a wider series of rocket and artillery strikes targeting Israeli military sites and troop gatherings along the Lebanon border front, as well as a military target deep inside Israeli territory.
According to what the group described as its “daily operational summary,” Hezbollah carried out 22 military operations after midnight between Monday and Tuesday.
These operations targeted various Israeli positions, including sites inside Lebanese territory and others inside Israel, with a claimed operational range reaching up to 160 kilometers.
The group said 13 attacks were launched inside Israeli territory and nine inside Lebanon.
Targets included five military bases, four cities and settlements, four barracks and military sites, 15 gatherings of troops and vehicles, as well as a factory. The operations also involved at least one direct ground engagement.
Hezbollah said the attacks involved a variety of weapons, including surface-to-surface rockets, precision missiles, artillery shells, guided anti-tank missiles, a surface-to-air missile, and machine guns used in one of the operations.
The group also reported rocket barrages targeting several Israeli towns and settlements in northern Israel, including Kiryat Shmona, Metula, Avivim, Kfar Giladi, Kfar Yuval, Ghajar, Maayan Baruch, Tel Hai, Hagoshrim, Beit Hillel, Margaliot and al-Manara.
Hezbollah said its fighters also targeted the newly established military position on Hamamis Hill south of Khiam with rockets, in addition to attacks on the al-Abbad site and its surroundings, and an IOF troop concentration at the al-Malkiya site opposite Aitaroun.
Other strikes reportedly targeted the Yiftah barracks and the Geva drone command base, as well as an artillery position near al-Marj opposite the Lebanese town of Markaba.
The group also said it shelled another concentration of Israeli troops in the al-Khanouq area of Aitaroun and launched rockets at a separate troop gathering on the eastern outskirts of Maroun al-Ras.
In a further escalation, Hezbollah said it launched two explosive drones at the Tel Hashomer base, which houses a command headquarters of the Israeli army southeast of Tel Aviv and lies about 120 kilometers from the Lebanese border.
Another swarm of drones reportedly struck the Tziporit base east of Haifa, about 35 kilometers from the Lebanese border.
A clear and defined objective
Meanwhile, Mohammad Raad, head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, said in a speech Monday evening that the “resistance option” had become the only way to defend Lebanon as Israeli airstrikes continue.
“Our objective is clear and defined,” Raad said. “It is to force the enemy out of our occupied land and stop its attacks and violations by air, sea and land.”
He added that there is “no other option to preserve dignity, honor and sovereignty except the path of resistance.”
The escalation comes amid a widening regional confrontation after Hezbollah joined Iran following the outbreak of the US–Israeli war on 28 February.
Estimates indicate that Israeli strikes and attacks since then have killed around 400 people and wounded more than 1,160 others in Lebanon, while more than 450,000 people have been displaced.
Two Israeli soldiers have also been killed and others wounded in attacks claimed by Hezbollah.
