7 hurt as Hezbollah shells north; Sa’ar says ‘certain progress’ made on ceasefire

Seven people were wounded Monday, including a toddler, as some 190 rockets were fired at northern Israel by Hezbollah, as Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said there had been “certain progress” toward a ceasefire in Lebanon.

A 27-year-old woman was moderately injured and a 35-year-old man and a 1-year-old girl were in good condition after they were hit by shrapnel following a rocket impact in the northern Arab town of Bi’ina just after noon. All three were taken by paramedics to Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, some 50 rockets were fired at the Galilee in the attack, some of which were intercepted by air defenses, while several rockets struck the Karmiel area and nearby towns.

Hezbollah took responsibility for the barrage, claiming to have targeted “a training base for the Paratroopers Brigade in the Karmiel settlement.”

A short time later, the IDF said a drone launched from Lebanon was intercepted by air defenses over the northern kibbutz of Malkia. Earlier another drone from Lebanon crashed in an open area near the Western Galilee town of Liman, sparking a small brush fire.

In the afternoon, Hezbollah launched around 90 rockets in two barrages at Haifa, in one of the largest rocket attacks on the port city amid the fighting.

In the first barrage of 80 rockets, the IDF said that most were shot down by air defenses, but several struck inside towns. The second barrage consisted of 10 rockets, all of which the IDF said were either intercepted or hit open areas.

The scene of a rocket impact in the Haifa suburb of Kiryat Ata, November 11, 2024. (Magen David Adom)

Damage was caused to homes and cars in Kiryat Ata, a Haifa suburb, and four people were wounded, including a 52-year-old who was listed in moderate condition after being hit in the back by shrapnel. A teenager and an elderly man were slightly hurt by glass shards, and another man, 55, was hurt when he fell while running to a shelter, Magen David Adom said.

A short while after the attack on Haifa, the IDF said a Hezbollah rocket launcher used in the attack was destroyed in a drone strike.

Other towns and communities in the north were also targeted with rocket fire throughout the day.

The attacks came as the IDF continued its campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, which aims to allow some 60,000 northern residents to return safely to their homes after being displaced by near-daily attacks since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terror onslaught.

Despite the ongoing attacks, Sa’ar told reporters in Jerusalem that there has been some movement toward a ceasefire with Hezbollah.

“There is certain progress,” Saar said in response to a question about a possible ceasefire. “We are working with the Americans on the issue,” he added.

“We will agree to it if we know, first of all, that Hezbollah is not on our border, is north of the Litani River, and that Hezbollah will not be able to arm itself again with new weapons systems,” he said.

Later Monday, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel, “We are now talking to the US about letters to anchor our ability and legitimacy to operate against any threat from Lebanon.”

Israel is demanding a side letter from the US that includes guarantees from Washington that Israel will be allowed to take military action in Lebanon against Hezbollah if the terror group manages to re-establish its military presence along the border.

The sides have made progress in drafting the letter, a US official told Axios, but it risks opposition from Hezbollah, which has asserted that it won’t accept any deal that allows Israel to resume its military actions in Lebanon.

“If there are any attempts to fire at us, to build up their military, to bring in weapons through Syria, we will act,” promised the Israeli official to The Times of Israel.

“We want to see Hezbollah north of the Litani [River], we want to see the Lebanese army in southern Lebanon, we want to see a stop to the flow of weapons through Syria,” continues the official, repeating long-standing Israeli demands.

The official confirmed that an Israeli delegation was in Moscow recently to discuss Russia’s role in ensuring that weapons don’t reach Hezbollah through Syria.

Russia is a major player in Syria, and its cooperation in a diplomatic arrangement to end fighting between Israel and Hezbollah could be an important part of a deal that keeps the Iran-backed group from rearming.

Israel expects a ceasefire to be reached during the remaining weeks of the Biden administration, said the Israeli official, but that “also depends on the Lebanese side.”

“We have a plan to expand our operations if Lebanon says no,” the Israeli official warned.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif said that the terror group had not received any official ceasefire proposal.

Asked about ceasefire prospects, Afif said that since the election of Donald Trump last week to the United States presidency, there were “contacts between Washington, Moscow, Tehran and other capitals.”

“I believe that we are still in the phase of testing the waters and presenting initial ideas and proactive discussions, but so far there is nothing actual yet,” he added.

But he said, “According to my information nothing official has reached Hezbollah or the Lebanese state.”

US officials have said they will make a final push to reach deals in the conflicts in Lebanon and Gaza, although it is unclear how much leverage they have over Israel and other regional actors now that US President Joe Biden is a lame duck.

Also on Monday, Lebanese media outlets reported that some 30 people have been killed in an airstrike on a building in the northern Lebanon village of Ain Yaaqoub, in the Akkar Governorate.

There was no immediate comment from the IDF.

خاص "تلفزيون المستقبل": سقوط صاروخ في بلدة عين يعقوب العكارية pic.twitter.com/ykh3ZkzErA

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The location of the strike was unusual. The vast majority of Israeli strikes in Lebanon have been limited to the south of the country, the Beqaa Valley, and Beirut.

The conflict along the Blue Line escalated significantly this past September when Israel, after 11 months of Hezbollah cross-border fire, carried out a wave of heavy airstrikes that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and most of his top commanders.

It then launched a ground invasion into southern Lebanon, aiming to push Hezbollah away from the border so that tens of thousands of Israelis evacuated from their homes in northern Israel can safely return.