Hezbollah Launches Anti-Tank Missiles at Israeli Army Post on Northern Border
The Lebanese Hezbollah terror group launched anti-tank guided missiles at an Israeli army post on the northern border on Wednesday. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) responded with a drone strike on a Hezbollah post, as fighting continued in southern Israel in the wake of a devastating attack launched by the Palestinian Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip.
In recent days, there have been several deadly clashes on the northern border, with some claimed by Palestinian terror groups operating out of Hezbollah-controlled southern Lebanon, and others by Hezbollah themselves.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the anti-tank guided missile attack on an Israeli army post near the northern Israeli village of Arab al-Aramshe. The group stated that the attack was in response to the deaths of three members in Israeli strikes on Monday, which were carried out in response to earlier clashes on the border.
Hezbollah claimed that the missile attack caused “a large number of confirmed casualties.” The IDF confirmed that it conducted strikes in Lebanon in response to the attack, but did not immediately provide information on casualties.
As part of the retaliation, the IDF carried out a drone strike on a Hezbollah post in southern Lebanon and shelled the source of the missile fire with artillery.
Amidst the incidents on the border, an incoming rocket siren sounded in Arab al-Aramshe, but the military later revealed that it was a false alarm.
On Tuesday night, Hezbollah launched a separate anti-tank missile attack against an unoccupied IDF armored vehicle on the Lebanon border. This attack followed the launching of 15 rockets from Lebanon at the Western Galilee. The Gaza Strip-based Hamas later claimed responsibility for the rocket attack. In response, the IDF targeted three Hezbollah posts.
The clashes on the Lebanon border on Monday resulted in the deaths of three Israeli soldiers and two Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists. In retaliation, Israel bombed several sites belonging to Hezbollah, killing three of its members. Rockets were also launched at Israel from Lebanon on Sunday and Monday.
Hezbollah has traditionally stayed out of previous conflicts between Israel and Palestinian terror groups, though it allowed local Palestinian factions to operate from its territory in southern Lebanon. However, amid fears that Hezbollah may open up a second front in the current conflict, the military has increased its forces in northern Israel.
Residents of towns near the border with Lebanon have left their homes over the past day, fearing further rocket attacks.
The missile fire from Lebanon on Wednesday coincided with continued rocket launches from the Gaza Strip towards southern and central Israel.
Since the unprecedented invasion of Israel by hundreds of Hamas terrorists on Saturday, the death toll has risen to over 1,200, with the majority being civilians. Thousands have also been injured in the ongoing conflict.