Illustrative image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced on July 4 that it had launched strikes against targets of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon in response to a large-scale rocket and drone attack that was carried out by the group earlier in the day.
The strikes hit targets in the towns of Ramyeh, Houla, Qanatra, Rab al-Thalathine, Deir Seryan, Tallouseh and Naqoura, the IDF said in two separate statements. Two videos showing some of the strikes were also released by the military. The Lebanese media didn’t report any casualties after the strikes.
Hezbollah carried out the large-scale attack in response to the assassination of its senior military commander Muhammad Nimah Nasser a day earlier, which was claimed by the IDF.
During the attack, Hezbollah targeted 11 headquarters and bases of different IDF formations. An Israeli reservist officer who served as a deputy company commander in the Yiftah Reserve Armored Brigade’s 8679th unit was killed in the attack. Several other people were reportedly wounded.
Initially, the IDF said that Hezbollah launched 160 rockets and 15 suicide drones in the course of the attack. However, in a later update it admitted that more than 200 rockets and 20 drones were launched from Lebanon, with only few being intercepted over Israel. Video footage showing some of the interceptions was released by the military.
In addition to the large-scale attack, Hezbollah targeted a gathering of Israeli troops and four sites of the IDF on the Lebanese border with heavy rockets and other weapons. These attacks were carried out in response to recent Israeli strikes on Lebanon and in support of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, according to the group.
Hezbollah and its allies began launching near-daily attacks against the IDF in support of the Hamas Movement and other Palestinian armed factions in Gaza after the outbreak of the Israeli war on the Strip last October.
So far, the border clashes have resulted in ten civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of at least 16 IDF soldiers and reservists. On the Lebanese side, more than 500 people have been killed, including 343 fighters of Hezbollah and at least 90 civilians.
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