Border Tensions Escalate: Hezbollah and Israel Trade Blows

Hezbollah launched a significant attack on Israel, resulting in one of the largest border clashes in over ten months. Israel retaliated with airstrikes, preventing a larger assault. Casualties include three deaths in Lebanon. Major escalations risk involving more regional players and leading to a broader conflict.

Early Sunday, Hezbollah launched a significant attack on Israel, with hundreds of rockets and drones lighting up the dawn sky. In response, Israel's military struck Lebanon with around 100 jets in a bid to thwart a larger offensive, marking one of the most intense border skirmishes in over ten months.

Although Lebanon confirmed three deaths, no fatalities occurred in Israel, where damage was comparatively minimal. Israel's foreign minister emphasized that the country does not seek a full-scale war, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that the conflict was far from over.

The escalation of fighting, which began alongside the Gaza war, raises fears of a broader regional conflict, potentially drawing in Hezbollah's ally Iran and Israel's ally the United States. Hezbollah announced that it had fired 320 Katyusha rockets at Israel, targeting 11 military sites, framing it as the first phase of retaliation for the assassination of Fuad Shukr, a senior commander, last month.

(With inputs from agencies.)