Hezbollah launched a massive missile attack on Israel, firing over 200 rockets into the north of the country.
The unprecedented strike was in retaliation for the death of Taleb Sami Abdullah, a senior field commander who was killed in an attack by the Israel Defence Force (IDF) on Tuesday night.
The funeral for the commander was held on Wednesday and attended by a top Hezbollah official, who promised to increase the intensity, force and quantity of its attacks.
Sirens sounded across northern Israel as Hezbollah launched a deadly barrage of missiles at communities in the area.
The Iran-backed group said it targeted IDF headquarters in Ein Zeitim and Ami’ad, an air surveillance station in Meron, and a “military factory” in Sasa.
The missiles started fires in several places, which Israel’s Fire and Rescue Authority said had endangered “strategic sites and facilities”.
It added that fire-fighters, volunteers, park rangers and soldiers were close to gaining control over blazes in the northern communities of Biriya, Kadita, Ein Zeitim, and Tziv’on.
Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported that by late afternoon Hezbollah had fired as many as 215 missiles. No casualties have been reported by emergency services
The IDF responded by sending military jets to take out missile launchers in the southern Lebanese border areas of Yaroun and Hanine.
They also struck several “terrorist infrastructure sites” in Yater, an IDF spokesperson said.
Israel‘s army and Hezbollah militants have exchanged fire across the border almost every day since the IDF began its military campaign in Gaza.
More than 375 people have been killed in Lebanon, including at least 88 civilians, according to Lebanese authorities and the UN.
The IDF says 18 soldiers and 10 civilians have been killed in Israel, as a result of the military exchanges.
Abdullah’s funeral was attended by hundreds of mourners, including Hashem Safieddine – the head of Hezbollah’s Executive Council.
Safieddine said Israel had failed to learn from its past mistakes in a fiery speech.
“Experience has proven that the more leaders are martyred, the more stable and entrenched the resistance becomes,” he said.
“We will increase our operations in intensity, strength, quantity and quality.”