Hezbollah drones and rockets again spark fires in Golan Heights, IDF strikes cell that targeted fighter jet

Drone strikes and rocket attacks by the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah again sparked wildfires on Israel’s Golan Heights on Sunday, as the fire exchanges between both sides continued over the weekend.

Early on Monday morning, a false drone alarm woke at least 100,000 residents of Acre and Kiryat Bialik, sending them to shelters in the middle of the night. Israel Defense Forces later stated the alarm was caused by a mistaken identification and no danger was posed to the citizens.

Later that morning, an anti-tank missile hit a home in Manara and caused a fire. Then, another anti-tank missile struck the ground near Avivim, also causing a fire, before two more anti-tank missiles hit Kibbutz Yir'on and sparked another blaze there.

The day before, wildfires broke out after Hezbollah fired 10 rockets at the northern Golan Heights, before launching two drones in the same direction. The drones landed in open areas and didn’t cause damage except for the fires, which were later extinguished.

In addition, a Hezbollah cell launched multiple anti-aircraft missiles at Israeli Air Force (IAF) fighter jets operating over southern Lebanon, a worrying sign and the first incident of its kind since the war began last October.

While Hezbollah has shot down several Israeli drones, it has, so far, not targeted IAF jets, which are much harder targets.

The IDF reported that the jets were never seriously threatened by the attack. Within minutes, an Israeli drone struck and eliminated the responsible cell near the city of Tyre.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited the border area between Israel and Lebanon on Sunday to conduct an operational situation assessment. He was reportedly briefed on the efforts to fend off the increasing drone infiltrations by Hezbollah.

Gallant emphasized “the importance of continuing efforts to eliminate Hezbollah terrorists and terror targets,” his office stated.

Hezbollah took responsibility for 10 attacks on Saturday, including a claim that it used heavy Falaq-2 rockets for the first time. Five rockets sparked a fire in northern Galilee and anti-tank guided missiles damaged buildings and caused fires in Malkia and Misgav Am.

The IDF responded with a wave of airstrikes, hitting a terror cell and several rocket launchers.

Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts to relieve the tension between Hezbollah and Israel continue behind the scenes. On Saturday, U.S. President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron stated that they are working to prevent further escalation.

“We are redoubling efforts together to avoid a regional explosion, particularly in Lebanon,” Macron said in a joint statement with Biden, who visited France over the weekend.