Rockets Fired From Lebanon Prompt Israeli Strikes

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Israel retaliated after rockets were fired from Lebanon toward Israel for the first time in months. Israel said the airstrikes targeted sites linked to Hezbollah.

By Aaron Boxerman

Israel launched airstrikes on Saturday at sites in southern Lebanon that it said were linked to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, hours after rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel for the first time in months.

The attacks were the latest example of how the renewed Israeli offensive in Gaza is rippling across the Middle East.

The Israeli military said that it had shot down three rockets from Lebanon, and there were no reports of casualties. The volley was the first of its kind since last November, when Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a cease-fire brokered by the United States and France.

Neither Hezbollah nor any armed group in Lebanon immediately claimed responsibility for the rocket fire, which followed Israel’s resumed offensive against the Hezbollah ally Hamas in Gaza this week. Those Israeli attacks have already killed more than 600 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.

After the Hamas-led raids on Oct. 7, 2023, that ignited the Gaza war, the militant group’s allies across the Middle East began attacking Israel in solidarity.

On Saturday, the Lebanese Army said it had located and dismantled rocket launchers in southern Lebanon, a Hezbollah stronghold. The Lebanese military is distinct from Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militia which has long wielded enormous influence in the country.

“Military units are continuing to take the necessary measures to control the situation in the south,” the Lebanese military said.

The November truce charges the Lebanese government with preventing Hezbollah and other armed groups from operating against Israel. Israel has continued to bombard Lebanon despite the truce, arguing that it is cracking down on militants violating the cease-fire.

And while the agreement initially stipulated a full Israeli withdrawal by late January, Israeli forces still control five points inside Lebanese territory.

The resumed strikes in Gaza this week have brought attacks on Israel from other Hamas allies.

The Houthi militia in Yemen — which, like Hamas and Hezbollah, is backed by Iran — has resumed firing ballistic missiles at Israel, sending hundreds of thousands of Israelis rushing for fortified bomb shelters. Israel’s aerial defense systems have intercepted the missiles.

Israeli leaders have said that they launched the renewed attack in Gaza to pressure Hamas to free more of the dozens of remaining Israeli and foreign hostages in the enclave. Hamas has argued that Israel is tearing up the cease-fire deal.

Euan Ward and Rawan Sheikh Ahmad contributed reporting.

Aaron Boxerman is a Times reporter covering Israel and Gaza. He is based in Jerusalem. More about Aaron Boxerman

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