Israel-Lebanon war: A series of rocket barrages from Lebanon struck northern Israel's Haifa on Monday, leaving a total of seven people wounded, including a toddler. The attacks were marked as the one of deadliest strikes to hit Israel since its military invaded southern Lebanon. According to The Times of Israel, over 165 rockets were fired at northern Israel by Hezbollah.
Israel Defense Forces on its official X handle confirmed the attack. It posted a video clip in which a few cars are seen burning in flames with the caption - " #Northern_Israel_Is_Under_Attack We will continue to defend our civilians against Hezbollah’s aggression."
Netanyahu admits Israel's role in pager, walkie-talkie attacks
The fresh attacks by Hezbollah came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the first time admitted that Israel was behind the pager and walkie-talkie attacks on Hezbollah leaders in September that left at least 39 people dead and more than 3,000 injured. “The pager operation and the elimination of (Hezbollah leader Hassan) Nasrallah were carried out despite the opposition of senior officials in the defence establishment and those responsible for them in the political echelon,” The Times of Israel newspaper quoted Netanyahu as saying. Netanyahu's remarks came during Sunday’s weekly Cabinet meeting, according to Hebrew media reports.
Israeli minister reports some progress toward cease-fire
Meanwhile, Israel's new foreign minister said Monday that there has been “certain progress” in efforts to end the fighting with Lebanon's Hezbollah. But a spokesman for the militant group said it had not received any official proposal and was prepared to wage a long war if needed.
The Biden administration has spent months trying to broker a cease-fire, and there were reports that US envoy Amos Hochstein might return to the region in the coming days.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said any agreement would have to include enforcement mechanisms to prevent Hezbollah from reconstituting its military infrastructure near the border. “There is certain progress on the issue. We are working with the Americans,” he told reporters.
The Israel-Hamas war began after militants stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others. Israel's military response in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 people, Palestinian health officials say.
They do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but say more than half of those killed were women and children.
