Soldier killed as Hezbollah fires 200 rockets, 20 drones in major attack on north

An Israeli reservist officer was killed in the Golan Heights on Thursday as the Hezbollah terror group launched a major rocket and drone attack on northern Israel in response to the killing of a top commander a day earlier.

The Israel Defense Forces said it was carrying out waves of airstrikes in southern Lebanon in response to Hezbollah’s attack that comprised some 200 rockets and 20 explosive-laden drones.

The slain soldier, who was hit by one of the rockets that struck the Golan Heights, was named as Maj. (res.) Itay Galea, 38, a deputy company commander in the Yiftah Reserve Armored Brigade’s 8679th unit, from Ramat Gan.

Sirens had sounded across communities in Israel’s north throughout Thursday morning as Hezbollah launched its massive attack, one of the largest in the nine months of skirmishes.

The IDF said some of the rockets were shot down by the Iron Dome, and most of the drones were intercepted by fighter jets and ground-based air defense systems.

Fires were sparked as a result of some of the rocket and drone impacts, the military said. One fire was recorded at a mall in Acre, near Haifa, sparked by falling shrapnel from an interception.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service said that it also treated two people who were lightly hurt by falling while running to shelters.

Hezbollah said the attacks were launched as a response to the killing of its senior commander Muhammad Nasser in an Israeli airstrike on Wednesday. Nasser commanded one of Hezbollah’s three regional divisions in southern Lebanon.

Senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine, speaking at an event in Beirut commemorating Nasser, indicated his group would widen its targeting.

“The series of responses continues in succession, and this series will continue to target new sites that the enemy did not imagine would be hit,” Safieddine said.

In response to the attack, Israeli fighter jets struck several Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon, and additional targets in the towns of Ramyeh and Houla, the army said.

The IDF published footage of some of the strikes in Lebanon and some of the drone interceptions amid the attack.

It also said earlier on Thursday morning that Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon, including a building in Shihine and infrastructure in the Jabal Blat area, were struck by fighter jets overnight.

Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war there.

So far, the skirmishes on the border have resulted in 10 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 15 IDF soldiers and reservists.

Hezbollah has named 360 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. In Lebanon, another 65 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have been killed.