Israel’s northern border with Lebanon heated up again on Wednesday afternoon after a brief period of quiet, with the Israel Defense Forces reporting another round of rockets and anti-tank missile fire.
The IDF said that nine rockets were launched from Lebanon at the Kiryat Shmona area in northern Israel around 5:30 p.m. At least one rocket impacted in an open area inside the city of Kiryat Shmona; four more were intercepted by the Iron Dome air-defense system.
The rocket attacks caused no injuries or significant damage, the IDF added.
In a separate incident, an IDF drone strike thwarted a Lebanese terror cell launching mortars at the Tel Turmus area.
In addition, anti-tank-guided missiles were fired from Lebanon, targeting the northern towns of Metula, Malkia, and Manara.
The military responded by hitting the launch sites with several waves of artillery fire.
Earlier on Wednesday afternoon, enemy missile fire was directed at the area of Dvoranit along the border; the IDF responded with artillery fire at the source of the attack.
Around 15 minutes earlier, the IDF reported shots fired towards an IDF post in the area of Zar’it, a moshav in the Upper Galilee near the Lebanese border. The IDF responded with artillery fire at the source of the shooting.
No injuries were reported. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the afternoon cross-border attacks, saying that it fired at three sites with anti-tank guided missiles and gunfire.
Earlier on Wednesday, four Israeli soldiers were lightly wounded by a Hezbollah missile near the border moshav of Shtula. The IDF responded with artillery fire at the source of the attack.
Before the afternoon salvo, Hezbollah had fired at least seven missiles at northern Israeli towns and military posts over the previous 24 hours. Two soldiers and a civilian were wounded on Tuesday morning in a cross-border anti-tank missile attack on the northern Israeli town of Metula—the first of three rounds of missile attacks throughout the day.
The terrorist group has been probing Israel’s northern border in the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7 assault on the Jewish state, initiating a series of exchanges of fire as the IDF engages Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
Five Israelis—four soldiers and a civilian—have been killed on the northern front since the Hamas terrorist rampage in the south that left more than 1,400 people dead and 4,400 wounded, and at least 199 held hostage in Gaza.
During a call with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Wednesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called for Hezbollah to cease its attacks on the Jewish state.
Austin also updated Gallant on “upcoming deliveries of security assistance to Israel and reiterated the U.S. commitment to the safe return of hostages held by Hamas,” according to a Pentagon readout.
