Tel Aviv — Fear of a possible full-scale war between Israel and the militant group allied with Hamas Hezbollah in Lebanon was elated Thursday after an Israeli airstrike killed a top Hezbollah commander.
Israel said the commander it killed on Wednesday, Mohammad Naameh Nasser, was responsible for firing rockets into Israel. Hezbollah – a group that, like Hamas, is backed by Iran but is believed to be larger and much better armed – responded with another volley of rockets.
Hezbollah has intensified its attacks since Israel, which shares its northern border with Lebanon, launched the war in Gaza in response to the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7. Hezbollah has said it will not stop firing rockets at Israel until there is a ceasefire in Gaza.
The Israel Defense Forces said it intercepted drones and other projectiles fired from southern Lebanon on Thursday and that some of the falling debris caused fires on the ground. The military did not report any casualties but said it was returning Hezbollah fire by “attacking launch sites in southern Lebanon.”
The increasing exchange of fire across the border has been deadly. The Lebanese Ministry of Health reported at least 435 deaths on that side of the border as of June 26. Around 90 of those killed by Israeli bombings were civilians, according to Al Jazeera.
In Israel, at least 27 people have been killed by Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks since October, including 10 civilians, according to previous statements by Israeli authorities.
The clashes also sparked an exodus, forcing tens of thousands of people in both northern Israel and southern Lebanon to flee their homes across the border region.
Israel and Hezbollah fought a bloody war in 2006, and the U.S. government expressed concern about the prospect of a full-scale war that could lead Iran proxy groups across the region to target American forces based in neighboring countries. They have done so a few times since October, including a drone attack on a US base in Jordan that killed three US soldiers in January.
The Biden administration has been working both with public diplomacy and behind closed doors to try to prevent this from happening.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Wednesday that his country would prefer a diplomatic solution, but “if reality forces us, we will know how to fight.”
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