Hezbollah’s Rocket Attack on Israel

Hezbollah Launches Rocket Barrage at Israel After Khamenei’s Sermon

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivered a rare Friday sermon in Tehran, mourning the death of Hezbollah chief Nasrallah. In the past 24 hours, at least 37 people have died, and over 150 were injured in Israeli strikes on Lebanon. This is regarded as one of the most violent raids since Israel intensified its campaign against the Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah.

The Dahiye area, housing Hezbollah’s headquarters south of Beirut, was bombarded in an attack larger than the one that killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah a week ago. Some of Thursday night’s strikes hit close to Beirut’s international airport.

Reports indicate that the Israeli strikes in Beirut targeted Hashem Safieddine, Hezbollah’s likely new chief, while he was in an underground bunker discussing with other officials. His fate is currently unknown.

MIDDLE EAST CRISIS | LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets from southern Lebanon toward Israel today, reportedly after a sermon by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Dozens of rockets were launched, though no casualties have been reported so far, according to The Times of Israel.

An Israeli strike cut off a key border road in Lebanon, which thousands have used to flee to Syria amid the Israeli bombardment, according to Lebanon’s Transport Minister Ali Hamieh. The bombing created a four-meter (12 feet) wide crater, rendering the road unusable.

An Israeli strike in Beirut on Thursday targeted top Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine, who is widely regarded as the successor to slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Neither Israel nor Hezbollah has commented on this development, but Israeli Channel 13 reported that Israeli army sources believe the operation was successful.

During the Friday prayers, Khamenei declared that the Resistance—referring to its regional proxies—would not back down and that Israel would not triumph over Hezbollah and Hamas. He described the recent missile attacks on Israel as “legal and legitimate” and the minimum punishment for Israel’s “crimes.”

Israel Prepares for Retaliation
US President Joe Biden stated he did not believe there would be an “all-out war” in the Middle East. He emphasized that more needs to be done to avoid such a conflict.

Israel is preparing to retaliate against Iran for the rocket attack on its territory two days ago, though it has not specified how it plans to respond. Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations told CNN that his country has “a lot of options” for retaliation.

The Israeli military warned communities in southern Lebanon outside a UN-declared buffer zone to evacuate, signaling a potential expansion of ground operations.