Two IDF soldiers lightly wounded in Hezbollah rocket barrage on Kiryat Shmona
IDF strikes multiple terror targets in Lebanon as cross-border fire persists in the north
Two IDF soldiers were lightly wounded Friday evening and a building was damaged by a rocket impact in the northern city of Kiryat Shmona, the military said, as Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel continued.
The terror group launched a barrage of several rockets at the north, including some five rockets at Kiryat Shmona, some of which impacted the city and caused damage.
The IDF said fighter jets struck a Hezbollah rocket launcher in Marwahin and an observation post in Houla.
Earlier it struck a Hezbollah anti-aircraft system in southern Lebanon’s Rihan which was used to attack Israeli aircraft.
A separate strike was carried out against a building in Markaba, where a Hezbollah operative was spotted entering, the IDF said.
It published footage of the two strikes.
מוקדם יותר היום זוהה מחבל נכנס למבנה צבאי של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב מרכבא. זמן קצר לאחר הזיהוי, מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר בשיתוף פיקוד הצפון תקפו את המבנה ובו המחבל.
בנוסף, מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו במרחב ריחן משגר טילי קרקע אוויר אשר שימש לשיגורים לעבר כלי טיס ישראליים>> pic.twitter.com/AHqktGYpyA
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) July 5, 2024
Amid renewed negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza, a Hezbollah official told Reuters that the terror group would halt attacks on Israel as soon as any Gaza truce agreement takes effect, echoing previous statements from the group.
“If there is a Gaza agreement, then from zero hour there will be a ceasefire in Lebanon,” the Hezbollah official said.
A Hezbollah statement said its leader Hassan Nasrallah received Hamas deputy chief Khalil Al-Hayya for a meeting earlier in the day, which reviewed “the latest security and political developments” in the Gaza Strip.
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 there, leading tens of thousands of Israelis to be displaced from their homes. Israel has regularly warned it is ready to go to war if need be to secure its northern border.
Thursday saw an Israeli reservist officer killed in the Golan Heights as the terror group launched a major rocket and drone attack on northern Israel in response to the killing of a top commander a day earlier.
The IDF said it carried out waves of airstrikes in southern Lebanon in response to Hezbollah attacking the north with some 200 rockets and 20 explosive-laden drones.
So far, the skirmishes on the border have resulted in 10 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 15 IDF soldiers and reservists.
Hezbollah has named 360 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. In Lebanon, another 65 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have been killed.
