The Lebanon branch of the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian group Hamas, retaliated against Israeli strikes on Gaza by launching a barrage of rockets at Israel from southern Lebanon. According to a statement on Telegram, the Qassam Brigades said that they had fired 16 rockets targeting the northern Israeli city of Nahariya and the southern outskirts of Haifa. Israel reported about 30 launches from Lebanon within an hour. In response, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) that they were responding with artillery fire towards the origin of the launches.
The Qassam Brigades justified their actions as a response to the “massacres and aggression” by Israel against the people in Gaza. Palestinian authorities claim that relentless Israeli air strikes have resulted in the deaths of over 10,000 people since the conflict began on October 7, following a Hamas attack on southern Israel that allegedly killed more than 1,400 people. While the focus of the attacks has primarily been Gaza, tensions have remained high on Israel’s border with Lebanon. Armed groups, including the Iran-backed Hezbollah, have engaged in limited fire exchanges with Israeli forces for nearly a month.
Cross-border exchanges have already claimed the lives of at least 81 people in Lebanon, including 59 Hezbollah fighters, as well as six soldiers and two civilians on the Israeli side. The Qassam Brigades did not provide further details in their statement, but the rockets fired towards Haifa mark the furthest targeting from Lebanon since clashes began along the border.
A vehicle strike in Lebanon on Sunday resulted in the deaths of three children and their grandmother, allegedly carried out by Israel. In response, Hezbollah fired rockets at the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona, resulting in the death of an Israeli civilian. Hezbollah’s secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, had previously stated that any civilian killed in Lebanon would be responded to with an attack in Israel, establishing this equation.
Analysts have expressed concern about the potential for Israel’s conflict with Gaza to escalate regionally, with Hezbollah and other Iran-supported armed groups joining the fight against Israel. As the humanitarian conditions in Gaza continue to deteriorate, there are fears of a wider regional escalation. So far, both sides have avoided taking steps that could trigger a larger confrontation, instead opting for a steady campaign of tit-for-tat shelling and missile strikes.
Zeina Khodr, a correspondent reporting from Beirut, emphasized that both sides understand the consequences of expanding the conflict in southern Lebanon. The situation remains tense, and the international community closely watches the developments in the region.
