Hezbollah, Israel exchanged heavy fire as conflict intensifies

Israel and the militant group Hezbollah have exchanged heavy fire as the conflict in the region intensifies.

“Dozens of rockets hit Israel which destroyed homes, cars and communities,” Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, said in a post on X.

Israel said roughly 150 rockets, cruise missiles and drones were launched at Israel. Many were intercepted but there was a “small number” when strikes made it through, NBC News reported.

Shoshani blamed Hezbollah for the attacks and said earlier Saturday that Israel had “eliminated” 16 members of Hezbollah’s leaders.

The attacks follow an uptick in attacks between the two groups.

Late last week handheld pagers used by members of Hezbollah exploded across Lebanon and in parts of Syria, in what was widely seen as an attack from Israel.

The coordinated attack sparked fears of a larger regional war as Israel continues to battle Hamas in Gaza.

Israel has been increasingly hinting it is ready for a bigger war against Hezbollah as operations wind down in Gaza.

In response to the pager attack, Hezbollah said it had fired dozens of missiles into an air base in southeast Haifa in retaliation for the pager attack and strikes from Israel.

Israel said Sunday that ten projectiles crossed into Israel from Lebanon. Israeli strikes this weekend took out Ibrahim Aqil, the head of Hezbollah’s operations unit.

Shoshani said on X that Aquil, along with the 11 other Hezbollah leaders killed, made up the group’s leadership and “were advancing terror attacks” similar to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel last year.

“These murderous terrorists were a threat to Israeli and Lebanese civilians alike, with their blood on their hands,” Shoshani posted.  

As international leaders work to get Israel and Hamas to agree to a cease-fire deal, Hezbollah has been gathering across the border and represents a significant outside security threat.