Hezbollah Targets Tel Aviv In Further Escalation, Israel Foils Lebanon Missile Attack | Top

Israeli air defence systems on Wednesday intercepted a missile launched from Lebanon, following sirens across Tel Aviv, the country’s military informed. No casualties or damage have been reported in the incident.

The IDF announced that one surface-to-surface missile from Lebanon had targeted central Israel, but was intercepted by David’s Slingshot aerial defense system.

Hezbollah said it fired a Qader 1 ballistic missile targeting the headquarters of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, which it blames for a recent string of targeted killings of its top commanders and for an attack last week in which bombs hidden in pagers and walkie-talkies killed dozens of people and wounded thousands, including many Hezbollah members.

The intense attacks from Israel have created panic among civilians in southern Lebanon, as they have started to flee in search of security and shelter. United Nations (UN) and Lebanese officials on Tuesday stated that 27,000 displaced individuals had been settled in temporary shelters, while many others were forced to sleep in cars, parks, and along the beach.

Top Points

• The Israeli military said it was the first time a projectile fired from Lebanon had reached central Israel. Hezbollah claimed to have targeted an intelligence base near Tel Aviv last month in an aerial attack, but there was no confirmation. The Palestinian Hamas militant group in Gaza repeatedly targeted Tel Aviv in the opening months of the war.
• The UN Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on Lebanon for Wednesday at the request of France.
• The Israeli Defence Forces on Tuesday launched an airstrike in Beirut which resulted in the killing of senior Hezbollah commander, Ibrahim Qubaisi. The death of Qubaisi escalated the fears of a full-fledged war in the region as cross-border rocket attacks surged between both sides.
• Israel’s two-day bombing campaign on Lebanon has left more than 560 people dead and prompted thousands in southern Lebanon to seek refuge from the widening conflict.
• Hezbollah said it fired a Qader 1 ballistic missile targeting the headquarters of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, which it blames for a recent string of targeted killings of its top commanders and for an attack last week in which bombs hidden in pagers and walkie-talkies killed dozens of people and wounded thousands, including many Hezbollah members.
• Tensions between Israel and the Lebanese militant group have steadily escalated over the last 11 months. Hezbollah has been firing rockets, missiles and drones into northern Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and its ally Hamas, a fellow Iran-backed militant group.