Lebanon's Hezbollah has warned Israel that it will respond in kind to the targeting of civilians, while Tel Aviv claims that a war on the Lebanese front has drawn nearer amid ongoing cross-border shelling between the two sides.
Hezbollah stated in a communique on Monday evening that it launched rockets at the Kiryat Shmona settlement in retaliation for the Israeli military's targeting of a funeral procession for one of its fighters in the southern Lebanese town of Aita al-Shaab. The statement added that "any harm to civilians will be met with reciprocity."
Al Jazeera's correspondent reported that an Israeli rocket exploded near a Hezbollah fighter’s funeral procession in Aita al-Shaab without causing casualties.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah announced that on Monday, its fighters targeted two Iron Dome missile defense batteries north of the Israeli settlement of Kabri near the southern Lebanese border, as well as an assembly of Israeli soldiers and their equipment surrounding the Al-Hamra base.
The Israeli military, conversely, stated that air defenses intercepted two drones launched from Lebanese territory towards northern settlements, with one being intercepted above the city of Safed.
In response, the Israeli Air Force executed a series of air raids in Lebanese territory, claiming to have targeted military sites, rocket launch platforms, and Hezbollah infrastructure.
In addition to the air strikes, Israeli artillery shelled the vicinity of several Lebanese towns including Khiam, Meis al-Jabal, Aitaroun, and Maydoune.
Israeli Threat
In the meantime, on Monday, the Israeli military warned Hezbollah of any escalation in fighting at the border.
An Israeli military spokesman declared, "We are closer to war today than we were yesterday," accusing Hezbollah of what he called a systematic escalation along the border, referring to the daily attacks the party has been waging since October 8 in support of the resistance in Gaza.
The Israeli spokesman further accused Hezbollah of entangling Lebanon in a dangerous war.
These statements come amid threats from the government of Benjamin Netanyahu planning a military operation to force Hezbollah to retreat beyond the Litani River, approximately 30 kilometers from the borders.
According to the American news site Axios, Israeli and American officials have informed the US administration that Israel desires to push Hezbollah roughly 10 kilometers away from the borders as part of an arrangement to ease tensions with Lebanon.
The site mentioned that Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told the US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that Israel is prepared to give diplomacy a chance if progress occurs within weeks.
American officials are also reportedly seeking a diplomatic resolution between Lebanon and Israel, but significant progress has yet to be made.
Since the skirmishes commenced across the border on October 8, there have been nine Israeli soldiers and several settlers killed, while over 100 Hezbollah militants and some civilians have also perished.
