Hezbollah Rocket Barrage Hits Israel, Gaza Death Toll Soars Amidst Escalating Conflict
Hezbollah unleashed a barrage of 140 rockets into northern Israel on Friday, just a day after the group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed retaliation for Israeli strikes on Lebanese communication infrastructure, The Associated Press reports.
The Israeli military reported the rockets arrived in three waves, targeting areas along the ravaged border with Lebanon. The barrage occurred as the death toll in Gaza continues to climb, with Palestinian authorities reporting 15 deaths overnight.
The Israeli military maintains that it only targets militants and accuses Hamas of endangering civilians by operating in residential areas. However, a deadly airstrike early Friday morning that hit a family home in Gaza City, killing six people, including an unknown number of children, has drawn condemnation. Gaza’s Civil Defense reported the attack, while the Israeli military has not yet commented on this specific incident.
Rising Tensions and International Pressure
With the conflict now in its eleventh month, fears of a full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah are mounting. The Israeli defense minister has declared a “new phase” in the war, further escalating tensions.
Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, along with other Hamas leaders. Israel’s foreign ministry has challenged the ICC’s jurisdiction to arrest Israeli leaders, claiming the court did not allow Israel to investigate itself before seeking the warrants.
Tragedy in Gaza and Rising Death Toll
The war in Gaza continues to claim lives, with the Health Ministry reporting over 41,000 Palestinians killed since the start of the conflict on October 7th. While the ministry does not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its count, it states that over half of those killed were women and children.
The war has also caused immense destruction in Gaza, displacing nearly 90% of the territory’s population of 2.3 million.
A Separate Conflict in Syria
Adding to the regional turmoil, a leader of the Iranian-backed Iraqi militia Kataeb Hezbollah was killed in a strike in Syria on Friday. The militia confirmed the death of Abu Haidar al-Khafaji, stating that he was killed “while performing his duties as a security advisor in Damascus.”
The intensified tensions follow a wave of remotely detonated explosions in Lebanon targeting Lebanese Hezbollah communication devices, widely blamed on Israel, which it has not commented. These attacks resulted in at least 37 deaths, including two children, and thousands of injuries.
Separately, Israeli forces killed two Hezbollah members who were planting explosives along the Israeli-Lebanese border, an incident confirmed by both the Israeli military and a Lebanese official. The military released footage of the event, showing the militants coming under fire as they attempted to plant an improvised explosive device near a military post.
