Hezbollah launches its deepest attack into Israel after it killed 2 of its fighters in Lebanon

Israeli airstrikes killed two Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon, the military said on Tuesday, as air raid sirens sounded in northern Israel.

Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, and the Israeli military have been exchanging fire across Lebanon’s southern frontier in parallel with the Gaza war, adding to fears of a wider regional conflict.

File photo : Hezbollah fighter Hussein Ali Azkoul

Hezbollah on Tuesday confirmed the death of one of its fighters, Hussein Azkoul, but provided no further details.

Two security sources close to Hezbollah said Azkoul was an engineer in Hezbollah’s aerial defence units and that he had been active in Hezbollah’s field operations. The sources said Israel had been attacking Hezbollah fighters by closely monitoring their homes via surveillance drones.

The Israeli military said Azkoul’s death could significantly impact Hezbollah’s aerial unit, though Hezbollah has previously played down such statements.

A separate Israeli strike overnight Monday to Tuesday killed a fighter in Hezbollah’s elite unit, Radwan Forces, the military said, though Hezbollah has not confirmed his death.

Air raid sirens sounded in northern Israel on Tuesday, soon after the announcements and the military said it intercepted a “suspicious aerial target.”

On Monday more than 30 rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel. On Sunday, Hezbollah said it downed an Israeli drone that was on a combat mission in southern Lebanon.

Since October, Israeli strikes since have killed about 270 Hezbollah fighters as well as about 50 civilians. Hezbollah’s rocket and drone fire have killed around a dozen Israeli soldiers and half as many civilians.

Deepest attack against Israel

Hezbollah said on Tuesday it had launched a drone attack against Israeli military bases north of the city of Acre, in its deepest strike into Israeli territory since the Gaza war began.

The Israeli military said it had no knowledge of any of its facilities being hit by Hezbollah, but had said earlier on Tuesday that it intercepted two “aerial targets” off Israel’s northern coast.

Hezbollah said it acted in retaliation for an earlier Israeli attack killing one of its fighters. The group published what appeared to be a satellite photo, with the location of the strike symbolized by a flash with a red circle around it that sat halfway between Acre and Nahariyya to the north.

Reuters/ US news/ News Agencies