Lebanon’s Iranian proxy, Hezbollah, fired multiple rockets at Mount Meron and the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona on Tuesday night.
Approximately a dozen rockets were fired at an IDF air traffic control military base that sits atop Mount Meron, near the mystical northern Israeli city of Tzfat.
Several rockets reportedly landed near the base, and others hit the mountainside, as seen in footage uploaded to social media. Since October 8, Hezbollah has repeatedly attempted to destroy the Meron base.
Several other missiles also reportedly landed in Kiryat Shmona, a community that has seen repeated attacks as well.
Escalation
The attacks followed the targeted assassination by Israel earlier in the day of a top Hezbollah commander who headed Lebanon’s coastal sector.
The assassination came in response to an attack launched by Hezbollah on an IDF base in the Beit Hillel area near Kiryat Shmona, also earlier in the day. Three people were wounded when two explosive drones attacked the base. Hezbollah claimed to have also hit an Iron Dome aerial defense system as well, but there has been no confirmation by the IDF.
Gallant: Iran Will Fail to Deter Israel
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited the Western Galilee along Israel’s northern border earlier in the day and held an operational situation assessment together with senior IDF officials and troops operating in the area of the Western Galilee.
Gallant emphasized to IDF commanders the importance of the operational activity aimed at driving Hezbollah forces away from the border, and commended the soldiers for their performances.
“The tasks at hand are serious,” he said. “I see what you [the troops] are doing, and I am convinced that we will reach the stage when our citizens will be able to return to their homes safely.
“We will achieve this either via military action or via an agreement. It is always better to [reach] an agreement, but we are preparing for all possibilities,” he said.
The defense minister also discussed the Iranian attack on Israel and emphasized Iran will fail to deter or prevent Israel from acting against Iranian attempts to strengthen [its capabilities] across the Middle East.
“The Iranians will not be able to establish a new status of deterrence against the State of Israel,” Gallant told the forces.
“IAF aircraft operate everywhere; the skies of the Middle East are ‘open’ and any enemy that fights us will be hit, no matter where they may be.”
