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Hezbollah has officially joined the attack by Palestinian armed factions against Israel by launching attacks from southern Lebanon.
In a statement released on October 8 morning, Hezbollah announced that it had attacked three sites of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in the occupied Shebaa Farms in support of “the glorious Palestinian resistance and the struggling and patient Palestinian people.”
“The Radar site, the Zabdin site, and the Ruwaisat al-Alam site were targeted with large numbers of artillery shells and guided missiles, and they received direct hits,” the statement reads.
The attacks were carried out by the Martyr Commander Hajj Imad Mughniyeh units, Hezbollah noted. The elite units are named after the group’s top military commander who was assassinated by Israel in Syria in 2008.
Videos that surfaced online showed large explosions and columns of smoke rising from the Radar and Ruwaisat al-Alam sites, confirming that the attack resulted in material losses.
The IDF did not report any injuries, and said it responded to the attacks with artillery strikes. The military also announced that it had carried out a drone strike against “Hezbollah infrastructure” in the area. Israeli media reported the site was a tent the group set up in Shebaa Farms months ago.
Palestinian armed factions in the Gaza Strip led by the Hamas Movement launched the surprise attack on the morning of October 7. The attack, codenamed “Al-Qasa Flood,” began with a barrage of hundreds of rockets that targeted southern and central Israel. Several groups of Palestinian fighters later infiltrate nearby settlements and military positions from land, sea and air.
The attack came a day after Israel and the Arab world marked the 50th anniversary of the surprise attack by Egypt and Syria that launched the Yom Kippur War.
As of October 8 morning, clashes are still taking place in several settlements and military positions outside Gaza. Palestinian rocket attacks and raids have claimed the lives of more than 300 Israeli service members and civilians and left more than 1,800 others wounded, according to Israeli health officials.
Meanwhile, the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza reported that IDF strikes on the strip have so far killed 256 people and wounded more than 1,700 others.
The IDF could escalate against Lebanon in upcoming hours in order to maintain deterrence against Hezbollah. Nevertheless, this will raise the risk of full-blown confrontation on Israel’s northern front as the group will certainly respond with even larger attacks.
Following tensions last August, Hezbollah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah threatened Israel with a “severe response” to any attack on Lebanon, including against the leader of Hamas and other Palestinians factions.
