Hezbollah launches more than 100 rockets into Israel

At least one Israeli soldier was killed this morning when their unit was ambushed by a contingent of Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon, hours after the group launched more than 100 rockets into Israel. The militant group claimed it confronted Israeli troops who were infiltrating the villages of Adaisseh and Maroun al-Ras, inflicting losses and causing them to retreat.

Israeli officials confirmed one IDF soldier was killed in action, while sources told The Times that a commando unit sustained multiple casualties when they were ambushed as they approached a tunnel close to Adaisseh. The fallen soldier was named as Captain Eitan Itzhak Oster, 22, a member of the Egoz commando unit. Hezbollah also said that its fighters had targeted ‘a large infantry force’ in Misgav Am across the border with ‘rockets and artillery’, as well as troop gatherings in three other locations, one with Burkan short-range ballistic missiles.

The Iran-backed group’s media officer Mohammad Afif insisted the group was only in ’round one’ of its fight against the IDF and sought to dispel speculation that it had been weakened by ongoing Israeli attacks. ‘Our forces and resistance are fully prepared to confront and resist the enemy. I tell everyone that the resistance is fine and the command and control system is fine. ‘What happened in Misgav Am, Maroun al-Ras and Adaisseh today is only the beginning,’ he said. It comes as the IDF presses on with its brutal bombardment of Hezbollah positions across Lebanon, with at least five powerful explosions rocking southern Beirut this morning.

Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese civilians are fleeing north while Britons and other foreign nationals are rushing to escape the country after the IDF warned those living in the south to evacuate their homes. Meanwhile, Israel’s military is preparing a ‘significant retaliation’ to yesterday’s shocking attack by Iran that saw nearly 200 ballistic missiles streak across the Middle East and rain down on Israel last night. The region is edging closer to an all-out war that is already drawing in allies on both sides – with British jets used to counter Iran’s strikes, which were fired in retaliation to attacks on the Islamic Republic’s Hezbollah allies in Lebanon in recent days. Reports suggest Israel, which has vowed to ‘make Iran pay’, could go after the Islamic Republic’s oil facilities.

Iran is the third biggest producer of crude oil in the OPEC group of oil-producing countries and is heavily reliant on its oil and gas exports to prop up its ailing economy amid years of sanctions. Meanwhile, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett this morning called for a decisive strike to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities. ‘We must act now to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, its central energy facilities, and to fatally cripple this terrorist regime,’ Bennett wrote on X just hours after the attack on Israel on Tuesday. ‘We have the justification. We have the tools. Now that Hezbollah and Hama s are paralysed, Iran stands exposed. In a statement this morning, the IDF said ‘additional forces’ are joining ‘the limited, localised, targeted raids on Hezbollah targets’ in southern Lebanon.

It added that they would be drawn from a range of forces including the 36th Division, who were withdrawn from Gaza earlier this year, and would be joining the 98th division which is already in Lebanon. As it steps up its campaign, Israel has warned people in southern Lebanon to leave their homes in southern Lebanon and evacuate to the north of the Awali River, some 36 miles from the border. It is much further than the Litani River, which marks the northern edge of a UN-declared zone intended to serve as a buffer between Israel and Hezbollah after their 2006 war. The border region has largely emptied out of the hundreds of thousands of people who live on both sides amid sustained cross-border fire over the past year. Israeli strikes have killed over 1,000 people in Lebanon over the past two weeks, nearly a quarter of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry. Hundreds of thousands have fled their homes.

The IDF has said it will continue to strike Hezbollah until it is safe for tens of thousands of its citizens displaced from homes near the Lebanon border to return, but Hezbollah has vowed to keep firing rockets into Israel until there is a cease-fire in Gaza with Hamas. Late into the night, residents in Beirut were told to evacuate by the IDF, which said that their homes were within 500 metres of Hezbollah facilities that would be struck imminently. Lebanese politician Michel Helou told the BBC that the situation is ‘tense’ in the country’s capital. ‘Last night none of us slept much because it was the fifth night in a row that the southern suburb is struck. Every hour the Israeli army sends a Twitter post warning people to evacuate, but how and where and how could it be possible for them to evacuate in half an hour before a strike hits. ‘It’s very traumatising obviously psychologically, on top of the human toll of those strikes.’

Meanwhile in Gaza, Israeli strikes killed at least 32 people overnight as the military launched ground operations in the hard-hit city of Khan Younis. Israel has continued to strike what it says are militant targets across Gaza nearly a year after Hamas’ October 7 attack ignited the war, even as attention has shifted to Lebanon and growing tensions with Iran. In a major escalation by Iran, 181 missiles began raining down on Israel on Tuesday night, with some rockets dramatically exploding into bright orange flames near Tel Aviv as air raid sirens sounded. It prompted celebrations in Tehran, where Israeli flags were paraded through the streets and set alight by thousands of revellers. But Israel’s vaunted air defence systems stood firm against the Iranian barrages, fired in revenge for Mr Netanyahu’s campaign against Tehran’s Hezbollah allies in Lebanon, including the assassination of its leader last week.

Falling projectiles burned like comets against the night sky after they were intercepted by Israel’s ‘Iron Dome’, supported by US and UK jets. MailOnline understands that the UK played a similar role to when it defended Israel from an Iranian attack in April. On that occasion, RAF fighter jets shot down a number of drones, with support from several other countries including the US. The White House said Iran’s missile volley was ‘defeated and ineffective’, with just one reported death – a Palestinian man who was killed by shrapnel in the West Bank. Still, the aerial assault forced civilians across Israel to seek shelter as huge chunks of molten metal crashed to the ground, and was ‘twice the scope’ of Tehran’s bombardment in April, which saw more than 170 explosive drones and 120 ballistic missiles launched. In the wake of the attack, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran considers the matter ‘concluded… unless Israeli regime decides to invite further retaliation. In that scenario, our response will be stronger and more powerful.’

He added that Iran informed the US that the ‘operation is over and we do not intend to continue’. Araghchi also styled the attack as ‘self-defence’ and noted that Iran had ‘exercised tremendous restraint’ after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July. But Israeli sources told Axios all options were on the table for retaliation despite Iran’s threats – including targeting oil and even nuclear facilities. Retired US Army Colonel Jonathan Sweet and security expert Mark Toth told MailOnline that Israel could cripple Iran’s burgeoning nuclear programme, in line with Naftali Bennett’s calls. ‘(An Israeli attack) could take the form of the IDF striking Iran’s nuclear sites in an effort to kill two birds with one stone: deterrence and markedly setting back Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s nuclear weapons programme. ‘Israel could deploy one or all of its long-range assets to strike those targets – F-35 stealth fighter-bombers, precision deep-strike ballistic missiles, and/or ICBM-equipped submarines. ‘

Matthew Savill, Director of Military Sciences at the RUSI think tank, added: ‘Israel can’t be in the position of tolerating direct attacks from ballistic missiles on its territory, especially if those attacks increase in scale and begin to put pressure on the missile defence system. At the lower end of the spectrum for a military response would be a reminder of its conventional superiority, striking Iranian military targets which emphasise and widen that gap, such as missile defence and radar sites inside Iran. Ballistic missile production, storage or operation sites would serve the dual purpose of widening the gap and removing threats to Israel. Moving up the scale, ports or Iranian infrastructure, including oil production facilities, could be attacked to emphasise the damage that Israel can do to Iran. At the top end would be senior Iranian officials and the Iranian nuclear programme.’

Despite Iran claiming a new type of hypersonic missile was also used for the first time, IDF Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said there were no Israeli casualties and just a few hits in the centre of the country and in the south. ‘We are on high alert both defensively and offensively,’ Hagari said in a TV broadcast. ‘We will defend the citizens of the State of Israel. This attack will have consequences. We have plans, and we will operate at the place and time we decide.’ Israel declared UN chief Antonio Guterres ‘persona non grata’, banning him from entering the country for failing to condemn Iran’s missile attack on Israel. Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran’s heinous attack on Israel does not deserve to step foot on Israeli soil. This is an anti-Israel Secretary-General who lends support to terrorists, rapists, and murderers,’ said Foreign Minister Israel Katz in a statement.

President Joe Biden said his administration is ‘fully supportive’ of Israel and that he’s in ‘active discussion’ with aides about what the appropriate response should be. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who was on the phone with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu when the Iranian attack began yesterday, said: ‘I am deeply concerned that the region is on the brink and I am deeply concerned about the risk of miscalculation.’ In a rare urgent statement from Downing Street yesterday, the Prime Minister warned Brits to evacuate Lebanon, where Israeli forces launched a ground invasion on Iran-backed Hezbollah targets on Monday night. Britain’s Defence Secretary John Healey and Foreign Secretary David Lammy both ‘condemned’ Iran’s attack, adding: ‘British forces have this evening played their part in attempts to prevent further escalation in the Middle East.’ Mr Healey added: ‘I want to thank all British personnel involved in the operation for their courage and professionalism. The UK stands fully behind Israel’s right to defend its country and its people against threats.’

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