Lebanon's Hezbollah says it launched rockets and drones at Israeli military sites

Rockets launched from Lebanon to Israel over the border are intercepted, amid the ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in Israel, near the border with Lebanon, July 3, 2024. /Ayal Margolin/File Photo

DUBAI - Lebanon's Hezbollah said on Thursday it launched more than 200 rockets and a swarm of drones at 10 Israeli military sites in response to the killing of one of the Iran-aligned group's top commanders in southern Lebanon on Wednesday.

An Israeli military spokesperson said Hezbollah's claims were "under review", while Israel's ambulance service said there were no casualties reported.

Thursday's barrage follows at least two attacks on Wednesday in response to what Hezbollah called "the assassination" of its commander, Mohammed Nasser.

The militant group said it launched 100 Katyusha rockets at an Israeli military base in Golan and its Iranian-made Falaq missiles at another base in the town of Kiryat Shmona near the Israel-Lebanon border on Wednesday.

Nasser, killed by an airstrike near the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon, was one of the most senior Hezbollah commanders to die in the conflict, two security sources in Lebanon said.

Hezbollah began firing at Israeli targets along the border with Lebanon after its Palestinian ally Hamas launched an attack on Israel on Oct. 7, declaring its support for the Palestinians. It has said it would cease fire when Israel stops its Gaza offensive.

The hostilities have inflicted a heavy toll on both sides of the frontier, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes.

Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed more than 300 Hezbollah fighters and 88 civilians, according to Reuters tallies. Israel says fire from Lebanon has killed 18 soldiers and 10 civilians.

-(Reuters)