The Lebanese terror group Hezbollah reacted to the latest killing of one of its senior commanders by Israel on Wednesday by launching its deepest attack inside Israel yet, hitting an IDF base some 35 kilometers (21 miles) from the border.
The IDF confirmed that two drones attacked the IDF base, “Tal Shamayim”– (Sky Dew in Hebrew) – located near the busy Golani junction west of Tiberias. One of them was intercepted while the second one exploded on the base.
The army said there were no injuries but didn’t comment on the extent of the damage at the site.
It serves as the home base of the Israeli Air Force’s advanced observation balloon “Sky Dew,” which is designed to provide an early warning against missiles and drones.
The attack triggered a drone infiltration siren in the nearby recreational Jordan River Village.
Nabil Kawuk, a member of the Hezbollah Executive Council, said the attack was a “unique achievement,” which landed a “heavy blow and shattered Israel’s entire intelligence and espionage system.”
It was the deepest attack inside Israel during the current war, hitting a target in the Lower Galilee, around 35 kilometers (21 miles) from the border. Hezbollah’s attacks so far were mostly limited to targets within 10-15 km from the border.
Hezbollah said the drone attack was a response to Israeli strikes the day before that killed members of the terror group, including a senior commander, which in turn were a response to the terror group killing an Israeli citizen.
The group also fired around 60 rockets at the strategic IDF base on Mount Meron, which it has targeted several times in the past in response to Israeli strikes it saw as especially serious.
Smoke rises after rockets fired from Lebanon hit an open area in mount Meron, northern Israel, May 15, 2024 (Photo: David Cohen/Flash90).
“Hezbollah’s rocket barrage targeting northern Israel on May 15 illustrates the continued threat that the Iranian-backed terrorist group poses to Israel. Hezbollah has carried out thousands of attacks on Israel since October 2023, when it chose to support the Hamas attack on Israel,” said Seth Frantzman, Adjunct Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
“Hezbollah must be deterred from further attacks, and its terrorist operatives should be required to withdraw from areas near Israel’s border with Lebanon,” he added.
On Wednesday night, the IDF retaliated by striking the Baalbek region in northern Lebanon, with Lebanese sources reporting that the strikes were the largest since the start of the war.
At least 10 Massive Airstrikes by the Israeli Air Force within the last hour on Hezbollah Targets near the City of Baalbek in the Beqaa Valley of Southern Lebanon, with several Fires reported at Locations which were previously Buildings and Compounds utilized by the Terrorist… pic.twitter.com/s4G6aujL5U
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) May 15, 2024
The region holds several strategic Hezbollah bases serving its drone and missile arrays and is Israel’s preferred target to respond to Hezbollah attacks it sees as especially grave.
Lebanese media reported that the Israeli Air Force directed about 15 consecutive strikes in the area around Baalbek, as well as nearby Nabi Chit.
During another attack by Hezbollah on Wednesday, the terror group claimed it launched a heavy Burkan-type rocket at the IDF’s Biranit base near the border. In addition, the Hamas branch in Lebanon said it fired a salvo of rockets at IDF barracks near Liman in the Western Galilee.
According to the Lebanese newspaper L’Orient Today, one of the rockets fell short and hit a house in Mansouri, south of Tyre, wounding five Syrian citizens.
On Thursday morning, Hezbollah continued firing projectiles into Israel, causing alarm sirens across northern Israel.
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