Lebanon's Hezbollah group said it had fired more than 200 rockets at several Israeli military bases in retaliation for an attack that killed one of its senior commanders.
Thursday's attack by Iranian-backed militants was one of the largest in the months-long conflict along the Lebanese-Israeli border, where tensions have risen in recent weeks. The Israeli army said "numerous projectiles and suspicious aerial targets" had entered its territory from Lebanon, many of which were intercepted. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
On Wednesday, the government acknowledged the killing the previous day of Mohammad Naameh Nasser, who headed one of Hezbollah's three regional divisions in southern Lebanon. Hours later, Hezbollah fired dozens of Katyusha and Falak rockets with heavy warheads into northern Israel and the Golan Heights in occupied Syria. It also said Thursday it had fired more rockets and sent explosive drones to some of its bases.
The United States and France are continuing desperate efforts to prevent the skirmish from escalating into an all-out war that could spread across the region.
The relatively benign conflict erupted shortly after war broke out in Gaza. Hezbollah said it was attacking Israel in solidarity with Hamas, another Iranian-backed group that sparked the Gaza war with its Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel.
Fighting has displaced tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border. Sixteen soldiers and 11 civilians were killed in northern Israel. More than 450 people were killed in Lebanon, mostly combatants but also dozens of civilians.
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