5 wounded by Hezbollah rocket barrages on Israel as US envoy arrives in Lebanon
Attacks target central and northern Israel; Amos Hochstein says ‘real opportunity’ to end fighting; IDF said to strike building in Beirut without prior evacuation warning
At least five people were wounded after rockets fired by Hezbollah hit central and northern Israel on Tuesday morning, as the United State’s special envoy arrived in Lebanon to make a final push for a ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese terror group.
Hezbollah launched rockets at central Israel for the second time in less than a day, setting off sirens in Herzliya, Kfar Saba, Ra’anana, Hadera, Netanya, and numerous other towns north of Tel Aviv shortly before 9 a.m.
According to Magen David Adom medics, four people were lightly wounded by broken glass in the attack on central Israel. Windows in a building were shattered by a nearby rocket impact. An exact location of the strike was not given.
In a separate attack on the north, one person was lightly wounded after a rocket launched by Hezbollah struck a home in the city of Karmiel, first responders said.
According to the IDF, five rockets were launched in the attack on central Israel, and 25 rockets were launched in the attack on the north.
The military said that most of the rockets fired were intercepted, but several impacts were identified.
The attacks came after 10 rockets were launched earlier in the morning at the Upper Galilee, causing no injuries or major damage, according to the IDF.
The IDF also said that two drones heading toward Israel from Lebanon were intercepted before crossing into Israeli airspace, and no sirens were activated according to protocol.
Separately, two drones launched from Lebanon set off sirens across the Upper Galilee shortly before 11 a.m.. The IDF said both drones did not cross into Israel.
On Monday, Hezbollah launched over 100 rockets at northern Israel, killing a woman and wounding dozens of others.
Fragments of an intercepted missile launched by Hezbollah at central Israel on Monday night caused heavy damage in the Ramat Gan suburb of Tel Aviv and wounded six people.
Overnight Monday-Tuesday, an Israeli airstrike without a prior evacuation warning destroyed a three-story building in Beirut’s southern suburbs, according to Lebanese media.
Lebanese media reported that several people were moderately wounded in the incident.
There was no comment from the IDF.
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US special envoy Amos Hochstein was in Beirut on Tuesday to push for a ceasefire. After meeting Lebanon’s Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri in Beirut’s Ain el-Tineh Palace, Hochstein said there is a “real opportunity” to end fighting between Israel and Hezbollah
“I came back because we have a real opportunity to bring this conflict to an end,” he said at a press conference after the meeting.
He added that gaps between the sides have been “significantly narrowed.”
“I’m here in Beirut to facilitate that decision, but it’s ultimately the decision of the parties… It is now within our grasp,” he said.
On Monday, a top Lebanese official told Reuters that Lebanon and Hezbollah have agreed to a US proposal for a ceasefire with Israel — though each had some reservations — describing the effort as the most serious yet to end the fighting.
A truce would come some two months into an Israeli offensive against the Iranian-backed terror group, which has attacked Israel daily since October 2023. Since the offensive was launched, Hezbollah has seen its leadership devastated and its arms supply greatly reduced.
Ali Hassan Khalil, an aide to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, said Lebanon had delivered its written response to the US ambassador in Lebanon, and was awaiting a meeting with Hochstein.
“Lebanon presented its comments on the paper in a positive atmosphere,” Khalil said, declining to give further details. “All the comments that we presented affirm the precise adherence to (UN) Resolution 1701 with all its provisions.”
He was referring to UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended a previous war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006, requires Hezbollah to have no armed presence in the area between the Lebanese-Israeli border and the Litani River, which runs some 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the frontier — clauses the terror group violated from the get-go.
Khalil claimed the success of the initiative now depended on Israel, saying if Israel did not want a solution, “it could make 100 problems.”
Khalil said Israel was trying to negotiate “under fire,” a reference to an escalation of its bombardment of Beirut and the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs. “This won’t affect our position.”
Israel has yet to comment on the report of Hezbollah’s agreement.
Jacob Magid contributed to this report.
