The militant group claims to have retaliated for Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon
Hezbollah militants reportedly targeted several Israeli military installations, including a critical air surveillance base on Mount Meron with a barrage of rockets and drones on Saturday, after a series of Israeli airstrikes targeted southern Lebanon earlier in the day.
Dozens of missiles struck Mount Meron, the highest summit in Israeli territory outside the Golan Heights, late Saturday night, according to videos circulating online. However, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) claimed all of the rockets were “either intercepted or fell in open areas,” with no damage or casualties reported, according to the Times of Israel and Jerusalem Post.
The Lebanese militant group claimed responsibility for the strike, saying in a statement early Sunday that “in response to the Israeli enemy’s attacks on the steadfast southern villages and civilian homes” it targeted the “Meron settlement and the surrounding settlements with dozens of Katyusha rockets.”
The paramilitary group said it also “launched a complex attack using explosive drones and guided missiles on the headquarters of the Al Manara military command and a gathering of forces from the 51st Battalion of the Golani Brigade,” earlier on Saturday. The IDF said it intercepted the incoming projectiles and “struck the sources of fire” in the Lebanese border area.
Scenes from the operation targeting the command headquarters and the positioning of forces of the 51st Battalion of the Golani Brigade in the #Israeli enemy army in the Al-Manara settlement in northern occupied Palestine. pic.twitter.com/dpEOM66WEf
On Saturday, the Israeli Air Force conducted a series of strikes in the villages of Al-Quzah, Markaba, and Sarbin in southern Lebanon with airstrikes, allegedly targeting Hezbollah’s “terrorist and military infrastructure.” On Friday, the IDF also struck several structures in Kfarkela and Kfarchouba.
The Israeli strikes reportedly killed at least three people, including two Hezbollah fighters whom the goupt mourned in separate statements on Saturday. The Lebanese media reported that a further 11 people, including Syrian citizens, were injured in the attacks.
The Shiite armed group has repeatedly bombarded its southern neighbor since the military conflict between Israel and Hamas broke out last October. The critical Israeli air surveillance base on Mount Meron also came under attacks on several occasions. Hezbollah previously described the base as “the sole center for administration, monitoring, and air control in the north of the usurping entity [Israel],” without which Israel has “no viable alternative.”
