The Israeli Defense Forces announced it hit Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon amid rising tensions along the border of the countries as Israel is at war with Gaza.
The attack is the latest exchange between the IDF and Hezbollah along Israel’s volatile border with Lebanon. The Iran-backed group announced earlier on Friday that it attacked Israeli forces with direct fire for the first time since the war broke out after the surprise attack by Hamas on Saturday.
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IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari announced in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, “The IDF attacked a Hezbollah target in southern Lebanon a short time ago in response to the infiltration of unidentified aerial objects that were intercepted.”
צה״ל תקף לפני זמן קצר מטרת חיזבאללה בדרום לבנון בתגובה לחדירת כלים בלתי מזוהים שיורטו ולירי שבוצע לעבר כלי טיס בלתי מאויש של צה”ל. השיגור לעבר כלי הטיס יורט.
— דובר צה״ל דניאל הגרי – Daniel Hagari (@IDFSpokesperson) October 14, 2023
A Telegram channel affiliated with Hezbollah elaborated on the “aerial objects,” saying that at least three had to be intercepted by Israeli aircraft after air defense systems failed. It echoed the IDF’s claim that Hezbollah had fired its own air defense missile at an Israeli drone.
Neither confirmed what the aerial objects were, though they were possibly Hezbollah drones.
Hezbollah has sparred with Israel along the border with Lebanon several times since Hamas’s surprise attack against Israel on Saturday. Hezbollah’s attacks against Israel from its base in Lebanon have raised fears that it could join the war against Israel, greatly expanding the scope of the conflict.
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Hezbollah is far larger and better armed than Hamas, enjoying considerable autonomy within Lebanon. The group is believed to have an army larger than that of the Lebanese state, allowing it to operate with impunity, with extensive help from Iran.
Hezbollah fought the IDF to a draw in 2006 after a month of fighting in Lebanon, and Israel has warned that it has grown considerably since. A top Israeli military officer warned in 2014 that the group is more powerful than any Arab military and ranks as one of the most powerful on Earth.
