Hezbollah Fires Rockets Into Israel on Anniversary of Oct. 7 Attack by Hamas

An Israeli police officer inspects the damage to a residential building caused by a rocket fired from Lebanon amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, in Haifa, Israel, on Oct. 7, 2024. Rami Shlush/Reutesr

The Hezbollah terrorist group fired rockets at Israel’s third largest city, Haifa, early on Oct. 7 as Israeli forces looked poised to expand ground incursions into southern Lebanon on the first anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack against Israel by Hamas.

Iran-backed Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, stated that it targeted a military base south of Haifa with “Fadi 1” missiles and launched another strike on Tiberias, 40 miles away, and areas north of Haifa with missiles in a second assault later on Oct. 7.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that the Israeli Air Force was carrying out extensive bombings of Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon.

On Oct. 6, Israeli air strikes pounded southern Beirut, Lebanon, in the most intense bombardment of the Lebanese capital since Israel escalated its campaign against Hezbollah.

The Israeli military said fighter jets hit targets belonging to the terrorist group’s intelligence headquarters, as well as its weapons storage facilities.

Strikes were also launched against other Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and the Beqaa area.

The Lebanese state-run National News Agency reported more than 30 strikes overnight into Oct. 6, while Israel stated that about 130 projectiles had been fired from Lebanon into Israeli territory.

The Lebanese Health Ministry stated that 10 firefighters were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a municipal building in the border-area town of Bint Jbeil, Lebanon, and that other aerial attacks on Oct. 6 killed 22 people in a swathe of southern and eastern towns.

The IDF accused Hezbollah of endangering civilians by “deliberately” embedding its command centers and weaponry under residential buildings in Beirut.

Security forces in Israel were on high alert on Oct. 7 as the country marked the first anniversary of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack against Israel, during which the terrorist group killed at least 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages.

That assault triggered Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip, which the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Department says has led to about 41,870 deaths in Gaza as of Oct. 6.

The IDF stated that Hezbollah launched more than 120 projectiles from Lebanon into Israel on the eve of the commemoration.

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) stated that it intercepted two “suspicious aerial targets” launched from the east on Oct. 7, after sirens were activated in the central Israeli region of Rishon Letsiyon and Palmachim.

The IAF did not provide details about the aerial targets. Earlier in the day, it reported spotting “a suspicious aerial target” launched from the east and that the IAF intercepted.

The Israeli military stated that four projectiles were fired from the Gaza Strip early on Oct. 7 during the commemoration, three of which were intercepted by the IAF, while one landed in an open area.

The IDF stated that it had also thwarted an “immediate threat” from Hamas to fire at Israeli territory.

Reuters contributed to this report.