Hezbollah Fires Over 50 Rockets at Northern Israel

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah fired more than 50 rockets at military positions in northern Israel on Thursday. This rocket fire coincided with a meeting between Hossein Amirabdollahian, the Iranian Foreign Minister, and Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah, who is financially and militarily supported by the Islamic Republic. According to the Associated Press, Hezbollah's rocket fire came a day after an Israeli airstrike on a house in southern Lebanon that resulted in the deaths of five senior fighters from the group. Hezbollah claims to support Hamas. Following the deadly terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7, which killed 1,200 people and resulted in the abduction of around 240 others, Israel entered into war against Hamas and initiated a ground offensive in Gaza aimed at destroying this Islamist group. Hamas is listed as a terrorist organization by the European Union, the United States, Israel, and several other countries. Hezbollah's rocket fire on Thursday was one of the most intense attacks by the group on northern Israel since its intervention in the Israel-Hamas war. Hezbollah stated that by intensifying its actions along the Israel-Lebanon border, it aims to alleviate pressure on the Gaza Strip. The Islamic Republic is considered a financial and military supporter of both groups. A four-day ceasefire agreement in Gaza and the release of dozens of hostages held by Palestinian militants was supposed to be implemented on Thursday, but it was later announced in Qatar that the ceasefire would take effect from Friday morning. Qatar is the main mediator for the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Prior to the rocket fire on Thursday, an Israeli airstrike on a house in Beit Yahoun, a village in southern Lebanon, killed five senior fighters, including Abbas Raad, the son of Mohammad Raad, the head of Hezbollah's 13-member bloc in the Lebanese parliament. Based on images shared on social media, it appears that Abbas Raad had a close relationship with Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. In this context, the deaths of several individuals who had taken photos with Qassem Soleimani have drawn attention from some social media users. On Thursday, Hezbollah issued several statements indicating that the barrage fired at Israeli military positions included 48 Katyusha rockets aimed at an Israeli army base in Beit Zaytim, located about 10 kilometers south of the border. In another attack, Hezbollah claimed that its fighters monitored four Israeli soldiers who were positioned in a house in a kibbutz and then fired an anti-tank missile that destroyed the house and killed the soldiers. No comment has been released regarding this claim from the Israeli army.