Hezbollah strikes Israel on Gaza conflict anniversary
(VOVWORLD) - Hezbollah rockets hit Israel's third largest city Haifa early on Monday as the country looked poised to expand ground incursions into southern Lebanon on the first anniversary of the Gaza conflict, which has spread across the Middle East.
 An Israeli police officer inspects the damage to a residential building caused by a rocket fired towards Israel from Lebanon, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, in Haifa, Israel, October 7, 2024. (REUTERS/Rami Shlush) |
Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, the Palestinian militant group fighting Israel in Gaza, said it targeted a military base south of Haifa with "Fadi 1" missiles and launched another attack on Tiberias, 65 km (40 miles) away.
The spiralling conflict has raised concerns that the United States and Iran will be sucked into a wider war in the oil-producing Middle East.
Israeli police confirmed that rockets had struck Haifa, also a major port, and local media said 10 people were wounded there.
Hamas meanwhile targeted Israel's commercial capital Tel Aviv with a missile salvo, the group said.
Hezbollah began launching rockets at Israel on October 8, 2023 in solidarity with Hamas. After a year of exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israel mostly limited to the frontier region, the conflict has significantly escalated in Lebanon.
Israelis marked the first anniversary of the Hamas attack with ceremonies and protests on Monday including a memorial event for victims of the Nova Music Festival where militants killed 364 people and kidnapped 44 party goers and staff.
In their shock rampage through Israeli towns and kibbutz villages near the Gaza border a year ago, Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli figures.