IDF Says Over 100 Rockets Fired From Lebanon Into Israel

An Israeli fighter jet takes off at an unidentified location to conduct strikes on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, in this handout photo released on Sept. 19, 2024. Israel Defense Forces/Handout via Reuters

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Friday that 140 rockets were fired into Israeli territory from Lebanon on Sept. 20 after Israeli airstrikes on targets of the Hezbollah terrorist group in southern Lebanon.

The IDF said that 120 rockets were launched from Lebanon, triggering sirens in the areas of the Golan Heights, Safed, and the Upper Galilee. Some of the rockets were intercepted by Israel’s air defense system.

Fire and rescue services have been dispatched to extinguish fires caused by fallen projectiles in several areas. The Israeli military did not state whether there were any injuries or casualties resulting from the attack.

Sirens were also activated in the areas of Meron and Netua, two areas closer to the border, when another 20 rockets were launched from Lebanon. The IDF said most of them fell in open areas, and no injuries were reported.

This came just hours after Israeli fighter jets struck Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, hitting 30 rocket launchers containing about 150 barrels, a terrorist infrastructure, and a weapons storage facility.

The IDF said in a subsequent update that its air force struck 100 Hezbollah launchers consisting of about 1,000 barrels, which it said were “ready to be used in the immediate future to fire toward Israeli territory.”

The Israeli military vowed to degrade Hezbollah’s terrorist infrastructure and capabilities and enable the return of Israeli residents evacuated from northern border areas to their homes.

The intense barrage followed attacks earlier in the week that blew up Hezbollah radios and pagers, killing 37 people and wounding about 3,000 in Lebanon.

Lebanon’s government and Hezbollah, which is designated as a terrorist group by the United States, have blamed Israel for attacks on the group’s communications equipment.

Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah stated in a Sept. 19 televised address that such attacks “crossed all red lines.” He did not indicate how Hezbollah would respond.

On Sept. 17, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Washington wasn’t involved, before urging for cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas amid the nearly year-long conflict.

Without remarking on the pager and walkie-talkie attacks, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Sept. 19 that Israel will keep up its pressure on Hezbollah, nearly two months after the terrorist organization launched rocket attacks in the Golan Heights that left about a dozen children dead.

“In the new phase of the war, there are significant opportunities but also significant risks. Hezbollah feels that it is being persecuted and the sequence of military actions will continue,” Gallant said in a statement.

Gallant noted that Hezbollah “will pay an increasing price” as Israel seeks to achieve its goals, including “the safe return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes.”

In a show of support with Hamas after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, Iran-backed Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel, forcing many residents to flee to the center of the country. Israel and Hezbollah have been trading fire almost daily since.

Jack Phillips and Reuters contributed to this report.