The exchange of fire between the Israeli army and the Lebanese group Hezbollah continued on Wednesday for the third consecutive day, after Israel launched on Monday its biggest offensive against Lebanon since 2006, leaving more than 500 dead and almost 2,000 wounded, in addition to tens of thousands displaced from their homes.
On Wednesday morning, more than 40 projectiles hit Israeli territory from across the border, and almost all of them were intercepted by Israeli air defenses. Only one of them hit the Safed area, but it did not cause any injuries, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Sirens warning of airstrikes have not stopped sounding in northern Israel and even in the center, when a ground-to-ground missile launched by Hezbollah sounded alarms in Tel Aviv and nearby areas.
IDF spokesman Nadav Shoshani said this was the first long-range missile the Shiite militia had launched against Tel Aviv in the decades-long conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. The group announced in a statement that on Wednesday at around 6:30 a.m. local time (5:30 a.m. in Spain) it fired a Qader-1 ballistic missile against the Mossad headquarters in the suburbs of Tel Aviv. Shoshani questioned whether this was the target of the attack, which was repelled and the missile destroyed.
Hezbollah’s Al Manar television said that with this launch, the group “has introduced ballistic missiles into the battle.” The “Qader” type cruise missiles are Iranian-made and medium-range.
The IDF has denounced in a statement that “the terrorist organization Hezbollah continues to launch projectiles towards civilian areas and facilities in Israel,” which is why the Army is “attacking terrorist targets and Hezbollah weapons depots” on Lebanese soil.
At least three people have been killed and more than a dozen injured in an Israeli airstrike in the town of Ain Qana in southern Lebanon, the country’s health ministry said. Israeli airstrikes have not ceased since Monday, although with less intensity, especially against southern areas, from which Hezbollah usually launches rockets, missiles and drones towards Israel.
Source: www.eldiario.es
