Hezbollah, Iran launch simultaneous strikes on Israel; 2 soldiers wounded in Lebanon

The Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon fired rockets and drones at Israel on Wednesday, including in several waves carried out concurrently with salvos of ballistic missiles from Iran aimed at the Jewish state.

Two people were injured in central Israel in one of the concurrent attacks, in which Hezbollah targeted the country’s center and north with around 10 rockets, and Iran fired several ballistic missiles, also at central Israel.

The new salvos came on the fifth day of the conflict, which began on Saturday with joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Lebanon was dragged into the war on Monday when the Tehran-backed Hezbollah terror group launched an attack on Israel to “avenge” the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, prompting ongoing Israeli air strikes and a push by troops into southern Lebanon.

One of those hurt, a man in his 30s, was injured by shrapnel, while the other person was wounded by a blast. Both were in good condition, according to the Magen David Adom ambulance service.

Fragments of the intercepted Iranian missiles and Hezbollah rockets impacted at several locations in central Israel and the Jerusalem area, according to the police. There were no reports of direct missile impacts in residential areas during the attacks.

The military said that the “majority of the launches” from Lebanon toward central Israel and the north were intercepted by air defense systems.

The IDF also published footage of an interception of a drone launched from Lebanon by an Israeli Navy warship earlier on Wednesday.

יירוט איומים מכלל הגזרות: ספינת חיל הים יירטה כלי טיס בלתי מאויש ששוגר משטח לבנון

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כוחות חיל הים לוקחים חלק מאז תחילת מבצע 'שאגת הארי' במשימת הגנת השמיים, מזהים ומיירטים כלי טיס בלתי מאוישים שמשוגרים לעבר שטח מדינת ישראל pic.twitter.com/RlxoPolIhb

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While the timing of the strikes appeared to indicate that Iran was coordinating with Hezbollah, the IDF said it did not have intelligence confirming this.

“It is true, there was fire at the same time, more or less, you can say simultaneously, from Iran and Lebanon. I don’t possess any intelligence information that says this was coordinated,” IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said in response to a question at a press conference.

“With that said, there is no doubt that Hezbollah works for the Revolutionary Guards in Iran; it’s a wing of the Revolutionary Guards in Iran,” he said.

IDF pushes into southern Lebanon

The rocket launches from Lebanon came as IDF troops pushed further into the southern areas of the country in a bid to protect northern Israeli communities and resume efforts to dismantle the terror group.

The military said it had assumed “forward defensive positions to establish an additional defensive layer to remove the threats to the residents of northern Israel.”

Amid those operations, two IDF soldiers from the 401st Armored Brigade were moderately wounded in a Hezbollah anti-tank missile attack.

The Iranian proxy said it had targeted a Merkava tank in the village of Houla.

The IDF said the two soldiers were taken to a hospital in moderate condition and their families were notified.

The UN peacekeeping force in the country, UNIFIL, said that Israeli ground forces had advanced several kilometers into several towns and villages in southern Lebanon.

“Israeli forces are present today in several villages, including Kfar Kila, Houla, Kfar Shouba, Yaroun and Khiam,” a source from the force told AFP. Khiam, the deepest point listed, is about six kilometers (3.7 miles) away from the border.

“The town of Khiam is witnessing continuous artillery shelling, while the Israeli enemy army penetrated into the town,” Lebanese state media reported.

As troops advanced, the IDF said that all civilians in southern Lebanon should evacuate north of the Litani River.

“The activities of the Hezbollah terror organization compel the IDF to act against it with force. The IDF does not intend to harm you. For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately,” said army spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee.

“Anyone located near Hezbollah operatives, facilities, or combat equipment is putting their life at risk,” he warned. “To the residents of southern Lebanon, you must immediately head north of the Litani River.”

Later, the Israeli Air Force carried out a wave of strikes in southern Lebanon.

The IDF also published footage of its new deployment in southern Lebanon.

The army said that the 146th Reserve Division was deployed to the western portion of southern Lebanon, the 91st “Galilee” Regional Division is operating in the east, and the 210th “Bashan” Regional Division is operating in the Mount Dov area.

Troops of the 91st “Galilee” Regional Division operate in southern Lebanon, in a video issued by the military on March 4, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

The forces include infantry, armored, and combat engineering troops, the military said.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, claimed that its fighters were engaged in “direct” clashes with Israeli forces in the village of Khiam. It was the first claim of a direct confrontation between the two sides in the latest round of fighting.

Hezbollah said in a statement that “after monitoring the movements of an Israeli enemy army force that tried to advance” inside the town of Khiam, “the fighters of the Islamic resistance detonated an explosive device and engaged in direct clashes with the force.”

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the claims.

Earlier Wednesday, the IDF carried out a wave of airstrikes in Beirut, saying it targeted subterranean Hezbollah weapon depots and other assets there.

The military said that in addition to the underground weapon storage sites, it hit Hezbollah command centers, as well as a site used by Hezbollah to collect intelligence and for “propaganda purposes.”

Ahead of the strikes, the IDF issued evacuation warnings for Lebanese civilians.

Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed 72 people and displaced more than 83,000 since the start of a new round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanese officials said. The figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Targeting embassies

Also Wednesday, Iran warned Israel against targeting the Islamic Republic’s embassy in Beirut, saying if it did so, Iran would target Israeli embassies worldwide.

The comment came after the IDF issued an unusual threat against Iranian regime officials in Lebanon on Tuesday, warning that they would be targeted if they did not leave the country within 24 hours.

Hezbollah’s decision to enter the fray sparked anger in war-weary Lebanon and unprecedented steps by the government to rein in the Shiite terror group that had until recently been almost untouchable in Lebanon.

The Lebanese army said it had arrested 27 people in the past two days for “illegally possessing weapons and ammunition,” following a government decision to ban Hezbollah’s military activities.

In a statement, the army said troops at its checkpoints “detained over the past two days 26 Lebanese nationals and one Palestinian in several areas for illegally possessing weapons and ammunition.”

It added that the move is part of “exceptional measures to maintain security and prevent armed displays in various regions.”

The Lebanese state banned the military activities of Hezbollah on Monday after the Iran-backed terror group launched rockets toward Israel.