Israeli soldiers exchanged fire with the Hezbollah militant group on Sunday after retaliating against Hamas strikes in the country the previous day. Talking about the latest attacks on Israel's northern border, Hezbollah said it was in solidarity with the Palestinian resistance
Hezbollah targeted Israeli positions in the disputed Shebaa Farms – which has been occupied by Israel since 1967 and claimed by Lebanon as its own – along the border with Syria's Israeli-occupied Golan Heights with dozens of rockets and shells. Following this, Israeli military hit Hezbollah targets with armed drone strikes near the borders of Israel, Lebanon and Syria.
A UN peacekeeping force deployed along Lebanon’s southern border has urged “everyone to exercise restraint” and de-escalate the situation.
The cross-border fire comes a day after Palestinian gunmen broke out of the blockaded Gaza Strip and entered Israeli towns in a surprise attack, killing at least 250 Israelis dead and taking several women, children and the elderly captive. Israel also bombarded Gaza in retaliation, killing at least 256 people and destroying several buildings, including a mosque and a 14-storey tower housing Hamas offices.
The previous war between Israel and Hezbollah was the 34-day conflict in 2006 when left 1,200 people were killed in Lebanon and 160 in Israel.
