Hezbollah rockets rain on northern Israel as alarm sirens since Oct 7 surpass southern Israel

Northern Israel experienced one of its most intense days of fighting in the past seven months, with alarm sirens blaring along large sections of the border with Lebanon throughout Thursday. This marked the culmination of one of the worst weeks of conflict in Israel’s north.

On Thursday, the number of alarm sirens on Israel’s northern border since the war began on Oct. 7 even surpassed the amount in the Gaza Envelope, with 3,272 alarm sirens having been activated following attacks by the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah.

According to statistics compiled by Lobby 1701, an activist group advocating for the residents of northern Israel, over 200 rockets and 15 drones were fired on Israel during the past 48 hours alone.

עדכון תקיפות בגזרה הצפונית 9-15.5.24. מלחמה של ממש. עם אבדות ונזקים חסרי תקדים. בזמן שאדישות פוקדת את מרכז הארץ על כולנו מוטלת האחריות לוודא שאנשים בכל ישראל מכירים את הנתונים הללו לפני שהמצב הזה ינורמל. pic.twitter.com/3VfdLwh1qh
— Lobby 1701 - לובי 1701 (@Lobby1701) May 17, 2024

The past week saw one IDF soldier being killed and 11 soldiers and civilians being wounded, continuing a worrying escalation over the past weeks.

The attacks showed no sign of letting up as the weekend approached, with Hezbollah launching another drone attack at the Western Galilee region early on Friday.

According to Israel Defense Forces, one drone was shot down over the sea and a second drone crashed near the town of Ga’aton.

רצף התרעות על חדירת כלי טיס עוין וירי רקטות בגליל המערבי, הדי פיצוצים נשמעו באזור נהריה | עדכונים שוטפים >>> https://t.co/pD9QflyDQb @CBeyar

(אנו עושים מאמץ לאתר את בעלי הזכויות בצילומים. השימוש ביצירות שבעל הזכויות בהן לא ידוע או לא אותר נעשה לפי סעיף 27א לחוק זכויות יוצרים.… pic.twitter.com/3JiyNeFFve
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) May 17, 2024

On Thursday, Hezbollah claimed to have fired 60 rockets in two barrages at an IDF base on the Golan Heights in northern Israel. The IDF confirmed that some 40 rockets crossed into Israeli territory and that some of them were intercepted.

In another incident, an IDF soldier was seriously wounded – and two others received light injuries – when a drone attacked an IDF post near the city of Metula.

Hezbollah later released footage of the attack, which marked the first use during the war of a drone capable of launching munitions in flight. Typically, Hezbollah's drones slam into their targets and explode on impact.

During the attack, the drone struck two small rockets at the IDF base, before slamming into the ground and exploding.

The IDF was not incorrect when it said an explosive-laden drone crashed in northern Israel earlier, though neither was Hezbollah when it claimed that its drone launched missiles at a military position near Metula.

Footage released by the terror group shows the attack, which left… pic.twitter.com/njoHMC7TwW
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) May 16, 2024

On Wednesday, Hezbollah launched its deepest attack into Israel yet, hitting an IDF base some 35 km (21 miles) from the border near the busy Golani Junction, west of Tiberias.

IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Daniel Hagari confirmed on Thursday that the “Sky Dew” observation balloon at the site was hit but emphasized that there were “no casualties and there is no damage to the IDF’s ability to build an aerial image of the area.”

Hagari said the IDF, in response, “attacked a complex of munitions production and storage sites, which is part of Hezbollah's missile precision project.”

Doron Kadosh, Army Radio’s military correspondent, stressed that Hezbollah’s attacks have been steadily escalating during the past several weeks.

“Hezbollah has been carrying out higher-quality attacks, to more distant targets, with a more advanced military weapon. Hezbollah is showing increasing boldness against Israel. Firing dozens of rockets at Meron has already become a normalized routine,” Kadosh said.

Areas like Nahariya and Ga’aton, which were attacked on Friday, as well as the surroundings of the Sky Dew base, are not evacuated, he stressed. “Hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens came into the firing range this week.”

The IDF stated it responded by carrying out numerous waves of airstrikes against Hezbollah targets across southern Lebanon. In addition, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) struck targets in Wadi Salouki, an area deeper inside Lebanon.

WATCH

ISRAEL NOT MESSING AROUND

Intense Israeli airstrikes targeted multiple locations in the Sidon district, hitting the town of Al-Najariyah, the coast of Al-Zahrani, and other areas. pic.twitter.com/DU4uNDEfoD
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) May 17, 2024

On Friday morning, Lebanese sources said an Israeli airstrike eliminated the senior Hezbollah commander Hussein Mahdi as he was traveling by vehicle near the town of Sidon, about 40 km (25 miles) north of the Israeli border.

Mahdi was reportedly a senior commander in the Hezbollah's aerial array.

“It can be estimated that there is a direct connection between the assassination and Hezbollah’s latest drone attacks,” said Kadosh.

In addition, four other targets in the area were struck during the attack.