The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has announced the launch of a new military campaign against Israel.
This is coming as Israeli forces carried out heavy airstrikes on the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
Hezbollah said late Wednesday that its new campaign, named “Eaten Straw,” was launched in response to Israeli attacks.
Shortly after the announcement, the group fired a large barrage of missiles toward Israeli targets.
Israeli media reported that more than 100 rockets were launched toward northern Israel, marking one of the largest rocket attacks in the current escalation.
Israel’s emergency service Magen David Adom said a woman and a man were slightly injured.
Air raid sirens sounded repeatedly for hours across northern parts of the country.
The name of the operation references Surah Al-Fil (“The Elephant”) in the Qur’an.
The chapter recounts the destruction of an invading army that attempted to attack the Kaaba in Mecca and was defeated by divine intervention, leaving it “like eaten straw.”
Shortly after the rocket barrage, Israeli fighter jets were heard over Beirut, carrying out at least six near-simultaneous airstrikes.
Residents said the explosions sent shock waves across the city, rattling windows and buildings in several neighbourhoods.
Earlier, the Israeli military said it had launched a “large-scale wave of attacks” targeting Hezbollah positions in the southern Dahiyeh suburbs of the Lebanese capital.
