Lebanese group Hezbollah fired multiple rockets at Israel on Wednesday, according to Israeli sources , in response to an Israeli strike that killed a senior Hezbollah commander, escalating tensions in the eight-month-old conflict, Reuters and News.bg reported.
Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged fire since October, when the Gaza war began, with the conflict intensifying and raising fears of a larger clash between the heavily armed rivals.
An Israeli strike on Tuesday night in the southern Lebanese village of Juya killed three Hezbollah fighters along with a senior field commander, identified as Taleb Abdallah, also known as Abu Taleb, according to three security sources. He is the most senior Hezbollah commander killed during the conflict, according to one of the sources. He was Hezbollah's commander for the central region of the southern border strip. His funeral will take place later on Wednesday.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military at this time.
According to initial reports, Hezbollah fired about 50 rockets from southern Lebanon towards the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, according to Israeli sources. The Syrians sounded in the northern part of Israel.
In a second announcement, Israel announced that around 90 rockets were identified crossing from Lebanon, some of which were intercepted, while others landed in various locations in northern Israel, causing fires in several locations. It is unclear whether the Israeli statements refer to individual shelling.
According to a security source in Lebanon, Hezbollah fired more than 100 rockets.
Abdallah, the Hezbollah commander killed on Tuesday, is higher-ranking than Wissam Tawil, another Hezbollah commander killed in an Israeli strike in January, sources in Lebanon said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. According to the sources, the four Hezbollah members were probably targeted during a meeting.
Israeli strikes have killed about 300 Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon, more than their losses in 2006, when the two sides last fought a major war, according to a Reuters estimate, indicating that the number of civilians killed is about 80. Hezbollah attacks killed 18 Israeli soldiers and 10 civilians, according to Israel.
The Israeli military said it had killed more than 320 Hezbollah members, including at least 100 who were struck after gathering "accurate and high-quality intelligence".