On Wednesday night, Hezbollah unleashed the largest barrage against the Jewish state since the current escalation began. Waves of rockets and drones launched from Lebanon sent hundreds of thousands of Israelis in the Golan, Galilee, and the Haifa region running to bomb shelters while Israeli air defenses scrambled to intercept the incoming fire.
The Lebanese terror group fired at least 150 rockets over several hours, according to Israel Defense Forces assessments, in what Iranian officials openly described as a coordinated attack tied to Tehran’s broader confrontation with Israel. The barrage began shortly after 8 p.m. with an opening salvo of approximately 100 rockets launched toward northern Israel. At the same time, Iran fired ballistic missiles toward the central region of the country.
Israeli air defenses intercepted the Iranian missiles and many of the rockets fired by Hezbollah, though several impacts were reported. Fires broke out in multiple areas, and two civilians were lightly injured.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service reported that a 35-year-old woman and a man in his 50s were struck by debris after a rocket impact. Both were taken to a hospital. Rescue services said one of the injuries occurred when a rocket struck a home in the northern town of Bi’ina. Four additional people were treated at the scene for acute anxiety.
As the Israel Defense Forces instructed residents of northern communities to remain close to shelters, Hezbollah continued launching rockets and drones. Sirens sounded repeatedly across the Galilee and in Haifa, reaching communities up to 50 kilometers from the Lebanese border. Residents in central Israel also reported hearing explosions during the attack.
The assault continued into the early hours of Thursday morning. Rocket alerts and suspected drone infiltration warnings were triggered in Nahariya, Acre, and several communities in the Western Galilee, as well as in the northern suburbs of Haifa. Hezbollah also fired long-range rockets toward central Israel, setting off sirens in the Tel Aviv area.
During the attack, the military announced the detection of additional Iranian ballistic missiles headed toward Israel. Alerts were activated in central Israel, the Jerusalem region, the north, and parts of the south. Several projectiles were intercepted, according to initial military assessments.
Emergency responders reported damage from an impact in central Israel after a home in Moshav Haniel was directly struck. No injuries were reported in that incident. Fragments from intercepted missiles reportedly fell in several locations.
Hezbollah later claimed responsibility for the long-range strike, stating that it had targeted the Glilot base near Tel Aviv, home to the headquarters of the IDF’s elite 8200 intelligence unit. The terror group described the attack as part of a broader operation launched in response to Israeli strikes inside Lebanon.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps confirmed that the barrage was carried out as a “joint and integrated operation” with Hezbollah. According to a statement carried by the Iranian Tasnim news agency, Iran launched ballistic missiles while Hezbollah fired drones and rockets at more than 50 targets across Israel.
The attack came as Israel and the United States continue a joint air campaign against Iranian military targets that began on February 28.
In response to the barrage, the Israeli Air Force carried out a large wave of airstrikes against Hezbollah positions in Lebanon. The military said the strikes targeted rocket launchers and other infrastructure used to fire rockets toward Israel.
According to the IDF, Israeli aircraft destroyed ten Hezbollah command posts in Beirut’s southern suburb of Dahiyeh during a thirty-minute operation, along with dozens of rocket launchers across Lebanon. The command centers were used by Hezbollah’s intelligence units and by the Radwan force, the terror group’s elite unit tasked with attacks against Israel.
Ahead of the strikes, the Israeli military issued evacuation warnings to civilians in southern Beirut for the third time that day.
“Do not return to the southern suburb until further notice,” said IDF Arabic-language spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee.
Israeli officials warned that the situation could escalate further. One senior official indicated that Israel may begin targeting Lebanese civilian infrastructure if the Lebanese government fails to restrain Hezbollah, the Iran-backed terror army operating from its territory.
Israeli intelligence assessments had already warned that Hezbollah was likely to increase its rate of rocket and drone attacks. Reports circulating earlier Wednesday indicated that Israel was preparing for a “significant expansion” of attacks by Iran and Hezbollah.
The confrontation between Israel, Hezbollah, and Iran continues to expand across multiple fronts. Wednesday night’s barrage marked a dramatic escalation in Hezbollah’s involvement and demonstrated the scale of the threat facing Israel’s northern communities.
