Israel launched strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip on Sunday, ahead of the one-year anniversary of the October 7 attacks that sparked the war.
At least 12 people were killed, including several children, as a result of two Israeli air raids on towns south of Beirut, reported AlJazeera citing Lebanon’s health ministry.
Large fireballs lit the skyline and booms reverberated across Beirut.
The Israeli military said its fighter jets struck targets in the Lebanese capital belonging to Hezbollah’s Intelligence Headquarters and weapons storage facilities, reported Reuters. It also said that the strikes targeted Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and the Beqaa area.
Hezbollah also launched rockers late on Sunday on Haifa, Israel’s third-largest city, causing damage to buildings, said the police. 10 people were injured in rocket strikes in Haifa and the city of Tiberias.
In Gaza, where the full-scale war between Israel and Hamas marked one year on Monday, Israeli fighter jets bombed tents housing displaced Palestinians at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah, wounding at least 11 people, as per an AlJazeera report.
Last year on October 7, the Palestinian militant group, Hamas launched surprise attacks on Israel killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 people hostage. The retaliatory offensive by Israel in Gaza has so far killed 42,000 Palestinians.
On Sunday, Israel’s army chief said that Israel was fighting a “lengthy war” and vowed to destroy those who attacked Israel. “This is a long war, measured not only by capabilities but also by the willpower and perseverance over time,” Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said in an address to troops, reported AFP.
“This is a war for our right to be a free people in our land,” he added.
On the eve of the anniversary, pro-Palestinian protestors took to the streets against Israel around the world from Indonesia to Morocco after rallies in major European capitals, Washington and New York.