Israel intercepts rocket barrage from Lebanon amid escalating cross-border strikes

Shafaq News/ On Sunday, the Israeli military reported that it had intercepted several rockets launched from Lebanon, with 10 targeting Haifa Bay, five aimed at the Upper and Western Galilee, and 25 directed toward the Golan Heights.

Some of the projectiles were intercepted, while others landed in open areas, according to the military.

Additionally, the Israeli army claimed it downed a drone over Lebanon before it crossed into Israeli airspace.

The Israeli Home Front Command issued emergency alerts across multiple areas, including towns south of Haifa, Shlomi, and villages in the Western Galilee, as well as Baqaata in the Golan, eastern Acre (Akko), Katzrin (Qatsrin), and Nahariya.

In a further escalation, the Israeli military claimed it had killed two Hezbollah commanders, Farouk Amin al-Ashi, the Khiyam district leader, and Radwan Force leader Yousef Ahmad Noun.

The army alleged that both commanders were responsible for orchestrating rocket and missile attacks on Galilee towns and targeting Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah has not confirmed the deaths of its commanders.

Earlier in the day, Hezbollah announced a series of strikes on Israeli positions, claiming it targeted Israeli military gatherings in Bar’am, Metula, Shlomi, Even Menachem, Shomera, and Zar’it, as well as a rocket salvo against the northern settlement of Katzrin (Qatsrin).

On Saturday night, Hezbollah reported it had hit two Israeli military bulldozers with guided missiles near the southern Lebanese town of Houla, destroying both vehicles and inflicting casualties, forcing an Israeli withdrawal.

Since the early hours of Sunday, Israeli airstrikes have pounded southern Lebanese villages, with attacks reported in Houmin, Jouaiya (Jwayya), Aadloon, al-Bazouriyeh, and Burj al-Shamali.

The Lebanese National News Agency confirmed that air raids also struck Kfarfila, Ansar’s outskirts, Haneen, and Shaqra, while artillery shelling hit the town of al-Khiyam.

In a further development, the Israeli military has issued new evacuation orders for residents in Baalbek and Duris in eastern Lebanon – marking the third such directive in recent days.

The hostilities are part of a broader Israeli escalation since September 23, extending strikes across much of Lebanon, including Beirut, alongside attempts for a ground incursion in the south. The ongoing war has so far, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, resulted in 2,968 fatalities, with 13,319 wounded, including women and children, and has displaced approximately 1.4 million people.