Hezbollah and Israel exchanged intense fire into Sunday, with the Lebanese group launching rockets deep into northern Israel in response to one of the heaviest Israeli bombardments in nearly a year. The cross-border conflict has sharply escalated, raising fears of a prolonged and potentially wider war in the region.
Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem, speaking at the funeral of a senior commander killed in an Israeli airstrike, declared, “We have entered a new phase, the title of which is the open-ended battle of reckoning.” The comments came as Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant vowed that military operations would continue until it was safe for evacuated residents along Israel’s northern border to return home.
The escalating conflict has seen near-constant rocket fire, airstrikes, and missile interceptions. On Sunday, Israeli air defenses intercepted around 150 rockets, cruise missiles, and drones fired overnight and into the day. While most were intercepted, several buildings, including a house near Haifa, were struck, causing damage but no reported fatalities. Residents were instructed to stay near bomb shelters as sirens blared throughout the day.
Hezbollah claimed to have targeted Israeli military installations and industrial facilities with drones and rockets as an initial response to the recent attacks on their communication devices, which exploded earlier in the week in an incident widely attributed to Israel. The Israeli military struck back, hitting approximately 290 targets, including thousands of Hezbollah rocket launcher barrels.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that recent strikes had dealt Hezbollah unprecedented blows. “If Hezbollah has not understood the message, I promise you, it will understand the message,” Netanyahu warned in a video statement.
The conflict’s escalation began after Israel assassinated top Hezbollah commanders Ibrahim Aqil and Ahmed Wahbi in an airstrike on Beirut on Friday, which killed 45 people, including 16 Hezbollah members. Israel’s Chief of the General Staff, Herzi Halevi, stated that the military is prepared for the next stages of fighting, which will unfold in the coming days.