Hezbollah fires record number of rockets after Israel kills top commander M Haris

GAZA: Hezbollah launched the highest number of rockets at Israel in a single day since cross-border hostilities began eight months ago, in retaliation for an Israeli strike that killed a senior Hezbollah field commander on Wednesday.

Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire since the Gaza war erupted in October, with escalating hostilities raising concerns about a larger confrontation between the heavily armed adversaries.

The Israeli strike in the southern Lebanon village of Jouaiyya late on Tuesday resulted in the deaths of three Hezbollah fighters and a senior field commander, Taleb Abdallah, also known as Abu Taleb, according to Israel and three security sources in Lebanon.

He was the most senior Hezbollah commander killed during the eight months of conflict, one of the sources said. The Israeli military confirmed the deaths, stating that the strike targeted a command and control center.

Sources in Lebanon reported that Abdallah was Hezbollah’s commander for the central region of the southern border strip. In response, Hezbollah said it conducted at least 17 operations against Israel on Wednesday, including eight in retaliation for what it termed the “assassination” by Israel in Jouaiyya.

Hezbollah fighters attacked various targets, including an Israeli military factory with guided missiles, and Israeli military headquarters in Ein Zeitim and Ami’ad, as well as an Israeli military air surveillance station in Meron.

A security source stated that Hezbollah fired around 250 rockets at Israel throughout Wednesday, marking the most in a single day in this conflict so far. One of the group’s biggest barrages since the hostilities began in October involved more than 100 rockets launched at once.

In response, Israeli jets targeted several launch sites in southern Lebanon on Wednesday after projectiles were fired towards northern Israel.

The Israeli military reported that Hezbollah had launched approximately 50 projectiles from southern Lebanon into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

In a subsequent announcement, Israel stated that approximately 90 projectiles were detected crossing from Lebanon, with several intercepted while others caused fires in various locations in northern Israel. It was unclear if the Israeli statements referred to two separate launches.