Hezbollah launches hundreds of rockets at Israeli military positions

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said it launched more than 200 missiles and deployed explosive-laden drones against Israeli military positions on July 4.

This is the latest attack by Hezbollah on Israeli targets after the Israeli army announced a day earlier that another senior Hezbollah leader was killed in an Israeli attack.

The Israeli military said in a statement on July 4 that its forces were attacking rocket launch sites in southern Lebanon after multiple rockets and suspicious aerial targets were flown from Lebanon into Israeli territory.

The Israeli military said its air defenses intercepted most of the incoming missiles, but some fires were still reported in northern Israel. Air raid sirens sounded across northern Israel on the morning of July 4.

Hezbollah's statement confirmed that this airstrike was in response to a previous Israeli attack on Hezbollah, which killed a senior leader of this force.

A source close to the group described the slain leader as "the Hezbollah commander responsible for one of three regions in southern Lebanon."

This is the second Hezbollah leader to be killed in Israeli attacks in nearly a month.

Tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border escalated after clashes between the Hamas Islamist movement and Israel erupted in Gaza on October 7, 2023.

In recent days, attacks between the two sides have increased, causing the international community to worry about the risk of conflict spreading to the region.

On the evening of July 3, Hezbollah forces in Lebanon also launched about 100 rockets at two Israeli military positions. Both France and the US are urging the parties involved to exercise restraint and avoid escalating tensions in this area.