Israeli hurt in rocket barrage on Golan; Fatah official tied to Iran killed in Sidon strike
Some 50 rockets launched at Katzrin after IDF hits targets deep in Lebanon; killing of Khalil Makdah is first apparent strike targeting PA’s Fatah faction in Lebanon since October
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon launched more than 50 rockets at the northern Israeli city of Katzrin in the Golan Heights on Wednesday morning, moderately injuring a man and causing damage to homes.
Meanwhile, the IDF carried out an airstrike on a vehicle in the Mieh Mieh Palestinian refugee camp near the coastal Lebanese city of Sidon, killing a Fatah official, marking the first such attack reported on the Palestinian group in over 10 months of cross-border clashes.
The Hezbollah attack on Katzrin came hours after the Israel Defense Forces carried out a series of airstrikes in Lebanon, while targeting Hezbollah weapon depots deep in the country.
According to the IDF, a barrage of some 50 rockets was launched in the attack on Katzrin, with most of the rockets being intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system.
Several rockets hit the city, causing heavy damage to homes and injuring one person.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service said the man in his 30s sustained shrapnel injuries from a direct rocket strike on his house. He was taken to Ziv Medical Center in Safed in moderate condition, MDA said.
Hezbollah took responsibility for the rocket barrage, claiming in a statement that it had targeted a nearby military base. The army rejected this, saying the group had intended to hit the town.
The terror group said it launched several volleys of Katyusha rockets at the base in the Golan Heights in response to an IDF strike deep in eastern Lebanon overnight.
Strike on Fatah official
In Lebanon, the Israeli military confirmed carrying out the strike that killed Fatah official Khalil Makdah.
غارة من مسيرة اسـرائيلية استهدافت سيارة بمنطقة الفيلات في محيط مدينة صيدا(مخيم المية ومية) pic.twitter.com/tK1BPRSqXh
— Mohammad (@Mohamaddsyrien) August 21, 2024
Khalil is the brother of senior Fatah official Munir Makdah, who has been accused by Israel for years of working with Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps to advance attacks on Israel.
In a joint statement, the IDF and Shin Bet said that the Makdah brothers have been working out of Lebanon with the IRGC to transfer money and weapons to terror cells in the West Bank.
The military published footage of the airstrike.
מוקדם יותר היום, בהכוונה משותפת של שב״כ ואמ״ן, כלי טיס של חיל האוויר תקף במרחב צידון שבדרום לבנון את המחבל, ח'ליל חסין חליל אל מקדאח.
ח׳ליל הינו אחיו של מוניר אל מקדאח, תושב לבנון שפועל עבור חיזבאללה ומשמרות המהפכה האיראנים, וממשיך לנסות ולקדם פיגועים בימים אלה >> pic.twitter.com/YrO6NatMOY
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) August 21, 2024
In March, the Shin Bet revealed that it had foiled attempts by Iran to smuggle large amounts of advanced weapons to terror operatives in the West Bank to be used in attacks on Israeli targets.
The Shin Bet said at the time that Munir Makdah was involved in the plot.
Ongoing cross-border fire
In another attack on Israel Wednesday, several drones were launched from Lebanon at the Upper Galilee, setting off sirens in numerous communities.
The IDF said that some of the drones were shot down by air defenses, while others impacted the area. No injuries were caused.
Overnight, Israeli fighter jets had struck Hezbollah weapons depots in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon’s northeastern Baalbek District, the military said, for the second straight night.
The IDF said secondary explosions were identified after the strikes, “indicating the presence of weapons in the warehouses that were attacked.”
Additionally, the military said a site used by Hezbollah’s air defense unit, which “posed a threat” to Israeli aircraft, was also struck in the Baalbek area.
Baalbek, a Hezbollah stronghold, is located some 100 kilometers from the Israeli border.
The IDF accused Hezbollah of putting military assets within populated areas, in a “cynical exploitation of Lebanese citizens,” after the Lebanese health ministry said one person was killed and at least 20 were wounded in the strikes.
Several more IDF strikes were carried out in southern Lebanon on Tuesday night.
The military said the targets included a rocket launcher in Abu Shash, used in an earlier attack on the northern Israeli community of Ya’ara; a Hezbollah operative in the Hamoul area; a Hezbollah operative in Beit Lif; and buildings used by the terror group in Ayta ash-Shab, Ramyeh, and Tallouseh.
Hezbollah announced the deaths of five members following Israeli strikes in Lebanon.
Israel and Hezbollah have been trading fire for over 10 months.
The region has been bracing for a major escalation in violence for more than two weeks, since Israel killed Hezbollah’s military chief Fuad Shukr and was blamed for the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, drawing promises of retaliation from both Iran and its Lebanese proxy.
Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war against the Hamas terror group there.
So far, the skirmishes have resulted in 26 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 19 IDF soldiers and reservists.
Hezbollah has named 420 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. In Lebanon, another 73 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have been kill
