(Beirut) Hezbollah announced Thursday that it had bombed northern Israel in retaliation for the death of one of its fighters in a targeted Israeli strike on southern Lebanon, the day after an incendiary speech by its leader.
On Wednesday evening, Hassan Nasrallah warned that “no place” in Israel would be spared from his team’s missiles if Israeli leaders followed through on their threats to attack Lebanon.
He also for the first time threatened Cyprus, saying he “has information” according to which this European Union country, closest to the coasts of the Middle East, would open “airports and bases” to Israel if this country was attack.
In a statement, the pro-Iranian party announced on Thursday that it had launched “dozens of Katyusha rockets” on a military position in northern Israel.
She specified that she was acting “in retaliation for the assassination carried out by the enemy in the village of Deir Kifa”.
Hezbollah announced the death of one of its fighters in this village. A source close to the Islamist group specified that he had been killed in the attack on Deir Kifa.
The Israeli military confirmed it “eliminated” a Hezbollah fighter in a “targeted strike,” adding that he was a local party commander.
The devastating war in Gaza, which erupted after an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, has led to daily violence on the Israeli-Lebanese border between Hezbollah, an ally of the Palestinian Islamist movement, and the Israeli army .
The latter further said it had targeted a Hezbollah surface-to-air missile launcher which “constituted a threat to aircraft operating over Lebanon in the Rihane region”.
On Tuesday, the army announced that “operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon” had been “validated”, as violence intensified.
Following the Hezbollah leader’s threats targeting Cyprus, the Lebanese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that “relations between Lebanon and Cyprus are based on a rich history of diplomatic cooperation.”
Contacts and consultations continue between the two countries “at the highest levels,” the Foreign Ministry statement said.
More than eight months of violence between Hezbollah and the Israeli army in border areas have left at least 479 dead in Lebanon, including a majority of Hezbollah fighters and 93 civilians, according to an AFP count.
On the Israeli side, at least 15 soldiers and 11 civilians were killed, according to Israel.
