Israel attacks Hezbollah targets stoking escalation fears

Isreal’s military said it has struck several targets in neighbouring Lebanon linked to Hezbollah.

In a post on X on Tuesday, the Israeli military said it had hit 10 targets linked to the Iran-aligned armed group in at least seven different areas of south Lebanon in overnight attacks. The attacks come amid growing worries over the threat that the war in Gaza could spark a regional conflict.

The attacks, which the military said killed one Hezbollah fighter, came after Israeli officials promised retaliation for a rocket strike that hit a playground in the Druze Arab town of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Hezbollah has denied carrying out the attack.

The Israeli military said it also “struck a Hezbollah weapons storage facility, terror infrastructure sites, military structures and a launcher in southern Lebanon”.

Hezbollah confirmed one of its fighters had been killed, the Reuters news agency reported.

‘We will respond’

Following the Majdal Shams attacks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the town on Sunday and promised a “severe response”.

The overnight attacks announced on Tuesday marked at least three Israeli attacks on Lebanese territory since.

A high-ranking Hezbollah source pledged to Al Jazeera that the armed group would respond to any Israeli aggression in Lebanon, including a ground invasion.

It was the first time that Hezbollah has commented on Israel’s threats of retaliation.

Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr, reporting from Beirut, quoted Hezbollah sources as saying that regardless of the nature of an Israeli attack, “whether it is limited or not,” the group “will respond”.

Foreign intermediaries have reportedly pleaded with Hezbollah for restraint “so the conflict can be contained and not spiral out of control,” our correspondent said.

On Tuesday, Hezbollah claimed that its air defence units had repelled Israeli warplanes that broke the sound barrier over Lebanese airspace.

The group said on Telegram that the aircraft were forced by fire “to retreat behind the borders inside occupied Palestine”.

Eager to avoid war

Pushed by his nationalist coalition partners, Netanyahu has employed hardline rhetoric over the attack in the Golan Heights.

However, it’s widely thought that Israel is eager to avoid opening up another front as it continues to fight Hamas in Gaza and bombard the enclave.

Israeli officials told Reuters on Monday that while Israel wanted to hurt Hezbollah, it does not want to drag the Middle East into all-out war.

Hezbollah has said that it is ready for war if necessary, but the armed group is also thought to be wary of a full-scale conflict.

The US has said it is working to try to avert the threat of escalation.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin expressed hope on Tuesday that war between the pair could still be avoided.

“While we’ve seen a lot of activity on Israel’s northern border, we remain concerned about the potential of this escalating into a full-blown fight. And I don’t believe that a fight is inevitable,” he said.

However, the stakes continue to rise as both Israel and Hezbollah fire across their shared border and accuse one another of atrocities.

Israel has said that the rocket that hit the Golan Heights, killing at least a dozen children, was an Iranian-made Falaq and was fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon.

The Tehran-ally has denied responsibility, although it did claim multiple launches towards Israel on Saturday.

Israeli forces and Hezbollah have been engaged in low-level hostilities across the border Isreal – Lebanon border since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7.

Since October, Israeli attacks have killed about 450 people in Lebanon including Hezbollah fighters and civilians.

Israel says 23 civilians and at least 17 soldiers have been killed in Hezbollah attacks since October.