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Cross-border fire between Israel and Hizbollah escalated sharply overnight, as Israeli jets struck targets deep inside Lebanon and the militant group responded with some of the largest rocket barrages on northern Israel since the start of hostilities last October.
According to the Israeli military, 100 rockets were fired by Hizbollah in two salvos aimed primarily at the Golan Heights early on Tuesday. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
The barrage followed Israeli air strikes near the north-eastern city of Baalbek, targeting what it said were Hizbollah sites, in the second attack by Israeli forces deep inside Lebanon in two weeks. The strikes late on Monday in Lebanon killed at least one person and wounded several others, said Bashir Khader, the governor of Baalbek.
The Israel Defense Forces said its war planes targeted sites used by Iranian-backed Hizbollah’s “aerial forces that planned and carried out various attacks” against Israel.
It said the strikes were in retaliation for Hizbollah attacks launched towards the occupied Golan Heights throughout Monday, as almost daily clashes between Israeli forces and the Lebanese militant group have intensified.
Israel and Hizbollah have engaged in tit-for-tat attacks since Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli authorities, with Hizbollah initially entering the war in “solidarity” with the armed Palestinian group and to draw Israeli military forces away from the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 31,000 people, according to health authorities in the Palestinian territory.
As the humanitarian crisis in the enclave worsens, a ship carrying food left Cyprus for northern Gaza after days of delay, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen confirmed on Tuesday.
The ship from charity Open Arms is the first to use a maritime corridor that could bring regular supplies to Gaza, which she said faced “catastrophe”. Von der Leyen told the European parliament that the maritime route “could guarantee a sustained, regulated and robust flow of aid to Gaza”.
Israel’s war against Hamas has triggered a wave of hostilities across the Middle East. The clashes between Israeli forces and Hizbollah have, so far, mostly focused on the border areas of southern Lebanon and northern Israel.
But in recent weeks, Israel has expanded its targets, striking the Lebanese town of Ghaziyeh, about 5km south of the coastal city of Sidon, as well as Jadra, a city just 30km south of the capital Beirut, and locations near Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley.
The hostilities have forced tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border from their homes and raised mounting concerns about the risks of a provocation or miscalculation by either party sparking a full-blown conflict.
Israeli strikes have killed more than 300 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s health ministry, most of them Hizbollah fighters.
At least seven Israeli civilians and 11 soldiers have been killed by Hizbollah fire since October, according to the Israeli military.
Hizbollah, which is the dominant political and military force in Lebanon, fought a month-long war with Israel in 2006 and is one of the world’s most heavily armed non-state actors.
The US is leading diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the hostilities, but those efforts have struggled to make progress as the war in Gaza continues.
Hizbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has said his group would not stop its attacks on Israel until a complete ceasefire had been agreed in Gaza.
Israeli officials have insisted that Hizbollah fighters must withdraw from the border region to allow some 80,000 displaced people to return to their homes in northern Israel.
They have said Israel is committed to the diplomatic process, but also warned that the Jewish state would use force if necessary against Hizbollah.
After meeting US envoy Amos Hochstein last week, Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant said: “Hizbollah’s aggression is bringing us closer to a critical point in the decision-making regarding our military activities in Lebanon.”