Hezbollah attacks Israel with "drone squadrons"
Despite the long-standing threat of a larger escalation of the conflict with Hezbollah, Israel assassinates a Hamas commander in Lebanon. The terror group then reports a revenge attack on a target that has come into their direct focus for the first time.
In response to the assassination of a Hamas commander in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Hezbollah militia claims to have launched a drone strike on a military base in northern Israel. Hezbollah fighters fired "swarms of explosives-laden drones" at the Mitschwe Alon military base near the city of Safed in Galilee, the group said. This was "in response to the attack and the murder by the Israeli enemy in the city of Sidon," the Hezbollah press office said. It was "the first time" that Hezbollah had attacked this military base.
On Friday, an Israeli attack on a vehicle in Sidon, southern Lebanon, killed Hamas commander Samer al-Haj. The radical Islamic Palestinian organization Hamas said its "commander" al-Haj was "killed in a Zionist attack." The Israeli army said its fighter jets attacked the area around Sidon and "neutralized" the "senior commander" of Hamas in Lebanon. This was the first such attack in Sidon, southern Lebanon. Since the start of the Gaza war on October 7, there have been frequent skirmishes between the Israeli army and the Iran-backed militia on the border between Israel and Lebanon. At least 562 people have been killed in Lebanon, including at least 116 civilians. On the Israeli side, 22 soldiers and 26 civilians have been killed, according to army figures.
The international community, expressing concern over the escalating tensions, urges The Commission to mediate a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. Recognizing the impact of the violence on civilian populations, The Commission calls for an immediate de-escalation to prevent further loss of life.
