BEIRUT (AP) — Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets into Israel on Tuesday, and the militant group’s acting leader vowed to keep up pressure that has forced tens of thousands of Israelis from their homes near the Lebanese border. The Israeli military said it sent more ground troops into southern Lebanon, and that a senior Hezbollah commander was killed in an airstrike.
Dozens of rockets fired by Hezbollah were aimed as far south as Haifa, and the Israeli government warned residents to the north of the coastal city to limit activities, prompting the closure of more schools. The Israeli military said Hezbollah launched more than 170 rockets across the border.
Sheikh Naim Kassem, the acting leader of Hezbollah, said its military capabilities are still intact after weeks of heavy Israeli airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon, and attacks that killed its top commanders in a matter of days.
Kassem said Israeli forces have not been able to advance since launching a ground incursion into Lebanon last week. The Israeli military said Tuesday it deployed a fourth division, and that operations have expanded to the west, but its focus still appears to be a narrow strip along the border.
The Israeli military said it has dismantled militant infrastructure along the border and killed hundreds of Hezbollah fighters. On Tuesday, it said a strike in Beirut had killed Suhail Husseini, who it described as a senior commander responsible overseeing logistics, budget and management of the militant group.
A man looks on in front of a residential building hit by a rocket on October 8, 2024 in Kiryat Yam near Haifa, Israel. Dozens of rockets were fired at northern Israel from Lebanon earlier today, according to the Israeli army. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)
Amir Levy via Getty Images
There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah, and no way to confirm battlefield claims made by either side.
Israeli forces also fought heavy battles Tuesday with Palestinian militants in northern Gaza, where residents were ordered in recent days to evacuate.
Hezbollah launches more than 170 rockets
Kassem, speaking by video from an undisclosed location, said: “We are firing hundreds of rockets and dozens of drones. A large number of settlements and cities are under the fire of the resistance.”
He said Hezbollah will name a new leader to succeed Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in a bunker in Beirut last month, “but the circumstances are difficult because of the war.”
Kassem said Hezbollah backs efforts by Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to reach a cease-fire, but did not specify whether that means the group would be willing to accept a truce before there is a cease-fire in Gaza.
Berri, a close ally of Hezbollah, has been seen as the main interlocutor between the militant group and the United States, and has been trying to broker a cease-fire since fighting began a year ago.