Hezbollah fires missiles into Israel; Tel Aviv carries out retaliatory strikes in Lebanon

IDF said it was carrying out strikes in Lebanon in retaliation to the attack on its border with anti-tank guided missiles, as Hezbollah warned of a "decisive" response to Israeli attacks.
Smoke rises after Israeli shelling in the village of Duhaira near the border of Israel, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. (Photo | AP)
Smoke rises after Israeli shelling in the village of Duhaira near the border of Israel, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. (Photo | AP)
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Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group said it fired missiles on Israel Wednesday drawing retaliatory Israeli fire, after three of its members were killed earlier this week amid soaring border tensions.

The exchange of fire came as Israel massed troops and heavy armour around Gaza in its retaliatory campaign against Hamas militants in a conflict that has left hundreds dead on both sides.

Anti-tank missiles were fired in northern Israel, near the Lebanon border, Israel-based i24NEWS English reported. A suspected infiltration attempt occurred near the border town of Rosh HaNikra, according to the news report.

Hezbollah "targeted a Zionist (Israeli) position... facing Dhayra village, with guided missiles," in a "firm response to Zionist attacks... which led to the martyrdom of a number of brothers," the group said in a statement.

The group warned of a "decisive" response to Israeli attacks "targeting our country and the security of our people, especially when these attacks lead to the deaths of martyrs".

Meanwhile, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) on Wednesday said it was carrying out strikes in Lebanon in retaliation to the attack on its border with anti-tank guided missiles, The Times of Israel reported.

The IDF said it would soon come out with more information on the attack.

Earlier, the IDF said an anti-tank missile was launched from Lebanon towards a military post near the community of Arab Al-Aramshe. "An anti-tank missile was launched from Lebanon toward a military post adjacent to the community of Arab Al-Aramshe on the #BlueLine," IDF wrote on X.

The Israeli military said that "in response to the anti-tank missiles that were launched at... soldiers a short while ago, the IDF (army) is currently striking in Lebanese territory".

Lebanon's National News Agency said two civilians had sustained "light injuries" in the border village of Dhayra, where an AFP correspondent reported shelling close to residential areas that triggered fires in nearby groves.

Another AFP correspondent in the southern town of Qlaileh heard loud blasts, likely from rocket fire. The NNA said Israeli fire on several locations along the border had been "countered by resistance (Hezbollah) machine guns."

On Monday, Hezbollah said three of its members had been killed in Israeli strikes on south Lebanon after Palestinian militants tried to slip across the border. Both Israel and its closest ally the United States have warned Hezbollah against opening a second front as Israel battles Hamas in Gaza.

The Israeli army is "prepared for any scenario", spokesman Daniel Hagari told reporters.

"Hezbollah is observing what Israel is doing in Gaza, it sees the volume of the destruction. Hezbollah sees this and understands," he said.

In Israel, the death toll from Hamas's shock cross-border assault rose to 1,200, the great majority of them civilians, while Gaza officials reported 1,055 people killed as Israel pounded the territory with air strikes.

In 2006, Hezbollah and Israel fought a devastating 34-day war that left more than 1,200 people dead in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 160 in Israel, mostly soldiers.

Meanwhile, the IDF said it targeted the Islamic University of Gaza, which serves as an "important centre of political and military power for Hamas in the Gaza Strip."

In a post shared on X, the IDF stated, "Fighter jets recently attacked the Islamic University, which serves as an important centre of political and military power for the terrorist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip and a training institution for the development and production of weapons. The IDF continues with extensive waves of attacks in the Gaza Strip at this time as well."

Earlier in the day, the spokesperson for Israel Defence Forces (IDF), Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus, said 1,200 citizens were killed and more than 2,700 injured in the Hamas strikes, adding that the Israeli forces were ready to execute the mission in Gaza.

"Four days after Hamas breached into Israel, attacked Israeli communities, murdered and massacred Israeli citizens and took dozens of Israeli hostages into Gaza. The dead toll is staggering, a 1200 dead Israelis. The overwhelming majority of them civilians and more than 2700 wounded and sadly something tells me that these are not final numbers," he said.

ALSO READ | Why did Hamas attack Israel, and why now? What does it hope to gain?

The IDF spokesperson informed that about 300,000 soldiers have been deployed on the Gaza border, adding that they would ensure that Hamas is completely shorn of its military capabilities at the end of the ongoing war.

In a live video posted on X, Conricus added, "We have sent our inventory, armoured soldiers, our artillery cores and many other soldiers from the reserves. 300000 in numbers in different brigades and divisions and they are now close to the Gaza strip getting ready to execute the mission that (the) Israeli government and that is to make sure that Hamas at the end of the war won't have any military capabilities by which they can threaten or kill Israeli citizens."

Continuing its air assault on Hamas, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Wednesday said it struck over 200 targets of the terrorist group in the Al Furkan neighbourhood, The Times of Israel reported.

According to the news report, the security forces also bombed the house of the father of Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas's military wing believed to be the key plotter of the terror attacks.

(With inputs from AFP and ANI)

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