IDF Launches Large-Scale Strikes Against Hezbollah

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has launched large-scale strikes against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon following weeks of escalating cross-border violence.

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IDF spokesperson Effi Defrin held a briefing on Tuesday indicating that military intelligence had identified a significant Hezbollah buildup, with large-scale rocket fire expected from Lebanese territory during evening hours.

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'We assess that Hezbollah is planning to launch rocket salvos into Israeli territory during the evening,' Defrin stated, noting that Home Front Command directives would be identical to those issued during the previous heavy barrage from Lebanon.

The Israeli military has been targeting 'Iranian regime infrastructure' across Iran while simultaneously escalating attacks on Hezbollah sites in Beirut and southern Lebanon, according to multiple sources.

Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shia movement, has intensified its rocket attacks against Israel following the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in early February, prompting a massive Israeli air and ground campaign reminiscent of past wars.

According to Israeli military assessments, Hezbollah has been using 'fire from the air and from the ground' in its attacks, with Israel responding by attempting to disrupt these capabilities.

Al Jazeera

The IDF has reported that Hezbollah targeted Israel's north, with several dozen rockets fired in recent attacks triggering sirens across the Galilee, near Haifa, and near Hadera.

Many of these rockets were intercepted by air defenses, while others struck open areas, according to initial military assessments.

The intensified Israeli strikes against Hezbollah have created a severe humanitarian crisis in Lebanon, with Lebanese authorities reporting that Israeli strikes have killed between 886 and 912 people since March 2, while more than one million people have registered as displaced.

“Previously, he was also the Iranian speaker of the parliament”

Al Jazeera

In the southern Lebanese city of Sidon, displaced people have been sleeping in their cars due to lack of shelter space.

'Lots of people are coming every day to ask for shelter but we don't have space anymore, we can't accept them,' said Jihan Kaisi, the director of an NGO that runs a school-turned-shelter where more than 1,100 people are crammed together.

Lebanon's military has also suffered casualties, with six Lebanese soldiers killed in Israeli strikes, according to Lebanese authorities who have declared Hezbollah's military activities illegal earlier this month after the Iran-backed group resumed its rocket fire against Israel.

The Israeli military has broadened its targeting strategy to include senior Hezbollah leadership figures, with Defense Minister Israel Katz vowing to 'hunt the leadership of Iran's terror and oppression regime' and repeatedly 'cut the head of the octopus.'

In a rare move, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have recently instructed the military to immediately eliminate any senior Iranian or Hezbollah figure when intelligence allows, without waiting for traditional approval from military and political chains of command.

Al-Monitor

The directive aims to prevent delays in operational activity during the ongoing US-Israeli bombing campaign in Iran and Israel's fighting with Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Israeli officials have stated that they intend to continue targeting the Basij paramilitary force 'to the point where the Iranian public understands that this is its moment to rise up,' with Netanyahu repeatedly vowing that the operation against Iran will 'create the conditions' for the Iranian people to rise up and topple the regime.

The escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has drawn international condemnation and raised concerns about regional escalation.

“Larijani headed Iran’s National Security Council, the top security body in the country”

Al-Monitor

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called the latest assassinations 'truly illegal,' while Israel faces criticism for its targeting of civilians and infrastructure in Lebanon.

Algemeiner

The humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate as Israel steps up its attacks on the country in its campaign targeting Hezbollah militants.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (IRC) has warned that Lebanon is facing one of the fastest displacement crises, with over a million people displaced across the country.

Meanwhile, the conflict has contributed to global energy market volatility, with Iran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported, sparking concerns about tightening energy supplies and unnerving the world economy.