Hezbollah launches rockets, drones at Israeli bases in response to Bekaa strike

Hezbollah said it launched suicide drones Wednesday at an Israeli military base in Ami'ad, near Lake Tiberias, and salvos of rockets on "a logistic military base" in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights in response to the latest airstrikes on the Bekaa.

An Israeli army spokesman accused Hezbollah of "firing indiscriminately at Israeli civilians" in the Golan's Katzrin, warning that Israel will act to "protect its citizens," as Israeli media reported that more than 50 rockets hit a number of private homes in the Golan Heights.

The attacks on Wednesday came a day after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar as he pressed ahead with the latest diplomatic mission to secure a cease-fire in the war in Gaza, even as Hamas and Israel signaled that challenges remain.

Hamas in a new statement called the latest proposal presented to it a "reversal" of what it agreed to previously and accused the U.S. of acquiescing to what it called "new conditions" from Israel. There was no immediate U.S. response.

First responders in Golan Heights said they treated a 30-year-old man who was moderately wounded with shrapnel injuries in Wednesday’s attack. One house was engulfed in flames, and firefighters said they prevented a bigger tragedy by stopping a gas leak.

Hezbollah said the attack was in response to an Israeli strike deep into Lebanon on Tuesday night that killed one and injured 19. On Tuesday, Hezbollah launched more than 200 projectiles toward Israel, after Israel targeted a Hezbollah weapons depot some 80 kilometers from the border, a significant increase in the daily skirmishes.

Israel and Hezbollah have traded near-daily strikes for more than 10 months against the backdrop of Israel’s war on Gaza. The exchanges have killed more than 500 people in Lebanon — mostly militants but also including around 100 civilians and non-combatants — and 23 soldiers and 26 civilians in Israel.

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed it, saying it needs the strategic plateau for its security. The United States is the only country to recognize Israel’s annexation, while the rest of the international community considers the Golan to be occupied Syrian territory.