Hezbollah rocket strike kills five, Israel strikes targets in Syria
A Hezbollah rocket attack on an apple orchard near Metula killed an Israeli farmer and four Thai workers on Thursday and the Israeli Air Force struck Hezbollah targets in Syria.
An Israeli Air Force Blackhawk helicopter in the skies over Haifa on Oct. 31, 2024. Photo by Anthony Hershko/TPS-IL
Another foreign worker in critical condition was evacuated to the Rambam Hospital in Haifa.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed that two rockets were fired at Metula from Lebanon and was investigating the incident. The strike occurred during a barrage of 30 rockets around midday. Another 25 were fired later in the afternoon.
David Azoulai, head of the Matula Council, slammed government officials for “normalizing the situation” of persistent rocket fire.
“We have been in an illusory war for a year and a month. There are five dead and one seriously injured. Unfortunately, the state is normalizing this situation,” Azoulai said.
Later in the day, the Israel Defence Forces said jets struck weapons storage facilities and command centres used by Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Forces and its Munitions Unit in the western Syrian area of Al-Qusayr.
“Hezbollah’s Munitions Unit is responsible for storing weapons inside Lebanon and has recently expanded its activities into the town of Al-Qusayr, near the Syrian-Lebanese border. With this, Hezbollah is establishing logistical infrastructure to facilitate the transfer of weapons from Syria into Lebanon via border crossings,” the IDF said.
After the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, Hezbollah began firing rockets and launching drones at northern Israel communities daily. More than 68,000 residents of northern Israel are displaced from their homes. Hezbollah leaders have repeatedly said they would continue the attacks to prevent Israelis from returning to their homes.
According to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War, the terror group is forbidden from operating in southern Lebanon.
At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 97 remaining hostages, more than 30 have been declared dead. Hamas has also been holding captive two Israeli civilians since 2014 and 2015, and the bodies of two soldiers killed in 2014.
