Hezbollah Launches Barrage of Rockets into Northern Israel, Targeting Margaliot Settlement

On Wednesday, April 12, 2024, the Lebanese group Hezbollah launched a barrage of rockets from southern Lebanon towards Galilee in northern Israel. The attack resulted in power outages in the Israeli settlements of Qiryat Shemona and Margaliot.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the strikes, stating that their fighters targeted the Margaliot settlement and a building housing Israeli soldiers in the Manara settlement. The group described it as their deepest strike into Israel since the start of the Gaza war.

In a statement, Hezbollah said the attack was in response to the killing of a woman and her niece in an Israeli airstrike on the town of Hanin in southern Lebanon, which also injured six others. The group called it retaliation for the "Israeli enemy's attacks on southern villages and civilian homes, particularly the horrific massacre in the town of Hanin."

Tensions have been escalating along Lebanon's border with Israel since last October, when the Israeli army launched a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip. Hezbollah and Israeli forces have engaged in intermittent exchanges of fire in the deadliest clashes since their full-scale war in 2006.

In response to the rocket fire, Israeli forces attacked Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. Two houses and a caravan were hit by anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs), setting the caravan ablaze, but no casualties were reported. The rocket fire damaged electrical infrastructure in Kiryat Shmona, knocking out power to the city and nearby communities.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) struck approximately 40 Hezbollah terror targets in the area of Ayta ash Shab in southern Lebanon, including storage facilities, weaponry, and terror infrastructures. Later in the morning, sirens were activated in several northern Israeli towns as the IDF announced it was attacking multiple Hezbollah positions across the border.

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) carried out nearly two dozen powerful airstrikes on the outskirts of Ayt Al-Sha'ab and Ramiya in southern Lebanon, allegedly focusing on eliminating terror tunnels. Israeli artillery also shelled an area of southern Lebanon from which ATGMs were fired earlier in the day.

The Israeli military stated that it holds the Lebanese government responsible for all attacks emanating from its territory and warned that it would continue to respond with force to any further aggression. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) urged both sides to exercise maximum restraint to prevent any further escalation of the situation.

Key Takeaways

• Hezbollah launched rockets from Lebanon into northern Israel, causing power outages.
• Hezbollah claimed the attack was in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon.
• Israel responded by attacking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, including terror infrastructure.
• The escalating violence threatens regional stability and risks a wider conflict.
• The UN called for both sides to exercise restraint to prevent further escalation.