Israel-Lebanon News: Israel says it has killed Hezbollah commander as airstrikes continue in Beirut

Nick Beake
Reporting from northern Israel

When October 7th came, huge lightning bolts lit up the hills in the northernmost part of Israel. Explosions rang out from across the border in Lebanon and there was a constant roar of Israeli fighter jets.

The raids continued throughout the night with an intensity not seen here since the Israeli ground offensive began almost a week ago.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in the area yesterday, visiting troops involved in the expanded operation. He told them they had “completely changed reality” in the year since Hamas began its attacks from Gaza in the south of the country.

Netanyahu claims that Hezbollah was planning an even larger invasion in the north of the country and has therefore sent troops to Lebanon.

Research by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on October 7th a year ago suggests that the vast majority of Israelis support the new campaign in Lebanon.

But fighting was already proving fierce in places and the Israel Defense Forces announced the death of a tenth soldier, 25-year-old Master Sergeant Etay Azulay from an elite combat unit.

Another key Israeli justification for the Lebanon invasion is to finally stop Hezbollah’s almost daily rocket fire, which the group fired in solidarity with Hamas the day after October 7 last year.

However, this has not yet happened and more rockets were fired overnight into northern Israel, including places further from the border such as HaCarmel and HaMifratz, which are outside the evacuation areas and are said to offer more security.

Not all rockets were intercepted, including one that hit the city of Haifa.

image source, Reuters