Hezbollah Launches Barrage of Rockets and Drones Towards Israel
In a dramatic escalation of violence, Hezbollah has launched over 50 rockets and a swarm of drones towards northern Israel, striking several homes in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and wounding one person. The attack comes a day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with mediators from Egypt and Qatar to discuss a potential ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Despite Blinken's efforts, Hamas and Israel have poured cold water on the prospect of an imminent pause in the fighting in Gaza. The US President, Joe Biden, spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone, stressing the urgency of bringing a ceasefire and hostage release deal to closure. However, Egypt has expressed skepticism about the US proposal, saying it does not provide sufficient guarantees for a permanent ceasefire.
Hezbollah's attack on Wednesday was in response to an Israeli strike deep into Lebanon on Tuesday night, which killed one person and injured 19. The Lebanese militant group has been involved in a conflict with Israel along the border, and considers an end to the conflict in Gaza a prerequisite to ceasing its own fighting.
The conflict has also drawn in other regional players, with Israel killing a senior member of the Palestinian Fatah movement in Lebanon on Wednesday. The Fatah party has accused Israel of seeking to "ignite a regional war". Meanwhile, a commercial ship traveling through the Red Sea came under attack on Wednesday, suspected to have been carried out by Yemen's Houthi rebels.
The Israeli conflict with Hezbollah has killed nearly 600 people in Lebanon, mostly Hezbollah fighters but also at least 130 civilians. On the Israeli side, including in the annexed Golan Heights, 23 soldiers and 26 civilians have been killed. The Israeli assault on Gaza has killed over 40,000 Palestinians.
The international community has called for an immediate ceasefire to end the violence and prevent further humanitarian suffering. The UN Secretary-General has urged all parties to exercise restraint and to work towards a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
