Israel targets Hezbollah military sites in Lebanon

BEIRUT: Israeli warplanes on Saturday morning carried out a series of airstrikes targeting Hezbollah military sites near the town of Jezzine in southern Lebanon, Lebanese military sources told Xinhua.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Israel fired eight air-to-surface missiles at four Hezbollah military sites situated in forested areas approximately 10 km from the border between Lebanon and Israel, and no casualties have been reported yet.

Eyewitnesses confirmed that eight successive explosions rocked the areas, with the sound being heard from afar and dense smoke rising in the atmosphere.

"It is difficult to determine the nature of the targeted centers because they are located in rugged areas, and it is not possible to determine whether they were hit by raids or if casualties occurred because they are considered closed military areas," said the military sources.

Hezbollah hasn't issued any statement about the Israeli raids.

On Friday evening, Hezbollah announced that its fighters launched an attack on the Israeli settlement of Ramot Naftali, firing dozens of Katyusha rockets on the Al-Zaoura site in the occupied territories.

Tensions escalated along the Lebanon-Israel border on Oct. 8, 2023, as Lebanese armed group Hezbollah launched a barrage of rockets towards Israel in solidarity with Hamas' attack on Israel the previous day. In response, Israel retaliated by firing heavy artillery towards southeastern Lebanon.