Hezbollah Launches Retaliatory Strike In Northern Israel, Wounding 14 Israeli soldiers

Hezbollah has wounded 14 Israeli soldiers after it launched a strike on Wednesday. The strike was in retaliation for Israeli strikes that killed Hezbollah members on Tuesday in southern Lebanon, that killed three people. This included a Hezbollah field commander, Lebanese security sources said.

The Israeli Ynet news site said the soldiers were in a community centre in the village.

Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire for the last six months since the Hamas attack on Israel last October. This marks the most serious escalation of hostilities between the two since 2006. According to a Reuters tally, more than 240 Hezbollah fighters and 68 civilians have been killed in the fighting. Eighteen Israelis, including soldiers and civilians, have been killed.

The fighting has fuelled concern about the risk of further escalation as it comes after Iran’s retaliatory attack on Israel on Saturday night. Hundreds of explosive drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles were launched on Saturday night, to which Israeli officials have vowed to respond. However, according to a survey carried out by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 74% of the Israeli public oppose any strike if it undermines security alliances between the US, UK, France, and Arab countries, which include Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

The US has already made it clear that it will not support any counter-strike by Israel on Iran.  President Biden told the Israeli prime minister in his phone call that he should consider Saturday a win because Iran’s attacks had been largely unsuccessful and demonstrated Israel’s superior military capability, a senior administration official said. 99% of Iran’s attacks were shot down by Israel, and the US, and caused minimal damage.

Iran carried out the direct strike after an attack on its consulate in Damascus, for which it blames Israel. Israel has not officially responded, but the Pentagon says it was responsible. Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh claimed post the Israeli attack on April 1 their conclusions led them to believe that it was indeed responsible for the attack.

(With inputs from Reuters)