Israel and Hezbollah trade fresh border barrages as region braces for war

LONDON — Sunday opened with a new barrage of Hezbollah fire into northern Israel, according to the Israel Defense Forces, which continued its own campaign of cross-border strikes after a week of high-profile — and high-casualty — attacks across Lebanon.

The IDF said Hezbollah launched 115 rockets toward Israel on Sunday, of which they were fired within 45 minutes. Hezbollah said the barrage was “an initial response” to Israel’s pager and walkie-talkie attacks in Lebanon last week.

In a statement, the group said it targeted facilities belonging to a military technology company and the Ramat David military base. Asked about the status of both, an IDF spokesperson declined to comment.

At least four people in northern Israel were treated for shrapnel wounds, with several others treated for light and moderate injuries sustained while rushing to shelters, according to the Magen David Adom emergency service.

The IDF said it was striking “Hezbollah terrorist targets in Lebanon” in response, having already bombed 400 targets through Saturday.

IDF international spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said in a Sunday morning briefing there was “heavy rocket fire by Hezbollah” across multiple northern regions, with several projectiles landed in areas including Kiryat Bialik, Zur Shalom and Moreshet, all close to the northern city of Haifa and some 20 miles from the Lebanese border.

“This is a situation that is untolerable and Israel is committed to act to change this reality,” Shoshani said.

Cross-border fire has been near-constant since Oct. 8, when Hezbollah began attacks in protest of Israel’s latest offensive into the Gaza Strip, which followed Hamas’ Oct. 7 operation.

Hezbollah — which controls southern Lebanon and is backed by Iran — has vowed to continue its attacks until Israeli forces withdraw from Gaza.

Tensions have been steadily mounting on the Israel-Lebanon border as the war drags on and cease-fire negotiations fail.

Israeli leaders have long demanded Hezbollah withdraw its forces north of the Litani River — some 18 miles from the Israeli border — per a 2006 United Nations Security Council resolution that sought to end the last major clash between the two sides.

Tens of thousands of Israelis have left their homes in the border region since Oct. 8 under the threat of Hezbollah strikes. Their safe return is a key war goal for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government.

The simmering conflict entered “a new phase” last week, in the words of Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, after Israel’s covert operation to detonate communication devices carried out by Hezbollah members.

Two consecutive days of explosions in Beirut and across Hezbollah’s southern heartland killed at least 37 people and wounded 2,931, according to Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad. At least one explosion was also reported in Syria.

Hezbollah suffered another serious security breach on Friday, when an Israeli airstrike in a densely-populated Beirut suburb killed operations chief Ibrahim Aqil and 14 other members.

The strike devastated part of the Dahiya area — known as a Hezbollah stronghold — and killed at least 45 people, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. The dead included at least three children — aged 4, 6 and 10 — and seven women, the ministry said. Dozens more people were wounded.

The past week of escalation has left the region on the brink of an intensified and broadened conflict. Shoshani said Sunday that three aerial targets approached Israel from the east overnight, two of which came from Iraq and were intercepted. Iraqi militant groups aligned with Tehran have claimed several attacks towards Israel since Oct. 7.

The IDF on Sunday issued new security guidelines for the north of the country, prohibiting educational activities, limiting the size of gatherings and closing beaches.

The Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa said in a statement that it will move all patients from wards to a “protected underground hospital.”

The State Department, meanwhile, reissued its level 4 “do not travel” warning for Lebanon to include threats posed by “recent explosions throughout Lebanon, including Beirut.”

The Department’s prevailing guidance for American citizens in the country — which is to “depart Lebanon while commercial options still remain available” — is unchanged from its last advisory issued in July.

“At this time, commercial flights are available, but at reduced capacity. If the security situation worsens, commercial options to depart may become unavailable,” the advisory said.

The United Nations’ special coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, warned in a statement posted to X on Sunday: “With the region on the brink of an imminent catastrophe, it cannot be overstated enough: there is NO military solution that will make either side safer.”

ABC News’ Jordana Miller, Dana Savir, Shannon Kingston, Ghazi Balkiz and Victoria Beaule contributed to this report.