In retaliation, Hezbollah, backed by Iran, launched rockets at Israeli military positions in the Golan Heights. Israeli authorities reported that two homes were damaged and one person was injured. Concurrently, the Palestinian Fatah movement accused Israel of seeking to provoke a regional war by assassinating a senior member of its armed wing in Lebanon.
Israel confirmed it had killed Khalil al-Makdah in Sidon, accusing him of working with Iran's Revolutionary Guards to coordinate attacks and smuggle weapons into the West Bank. This marked the first targeting of a Fatah member since the Gaza conflict began, which has fueled growing tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.
These tensions have escalated further after Israel recently killed a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut, who was blamed for a rocket attack that resulted in the deaths of 12 children. The ongoing conflict has so far claimed more than 530 lives in Lebanon, including at least 130 civilians, and 49 lives in Israel, including 26 civilians. The violence has also displaced nearly 200,000 people on both sides of the border.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant informed troops that the military's focus was shifting from Gaza to the Lebanese border, implying that the airstrikes on Lebanese munitions warehouses were in preparation for potential future conflicts.
On Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that their jets had struck several Hezbollah weapons storage facilities in the Bekaa Valley, a Hezbollah stronghold, along with an air defense system compound. The IDF also reported targeting a Hezbollah fighter in the southern border village of Beit Lif. Lebanon's health ministry confirmed one death and 30 injuries, including nine children, from the strikes.
In response, Hezbollah launched a rocket barrage at an IDF logistics base in the Golan Heights. The IDF reported that around 50 projectiles were fired from Lebanon, some of which landed in Katzrin, injuring a 30-year-old man when a rocket struck his home. Hezbollah also claimed to have conducted a drone attack on Israeli military sites in Amiad, near the Sea of Galilee, although the IDF stated that the drones fell without causing any casualties.
Later that day, an Israeli drone strike killed Khalil al-Makdah, a senior Fatah leader, as he drove through Sidon. Fatah's armed wing, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, confirmed his death and described him as a leader within the West Bank's military council.
Fatah officials accused Israel of attempting to incite a full-scale regional war. In response, Israeli officials outlined al-Makdah's alleged crimes, linking him and his brother Mounir to Iran's Revolutionary Guards and involvement in terrorist activities and arms smuggling into the West Bank. The IDF and Israel Security Agency pledged to continue their efforts to neutralize threats to Israel's security.
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