Israel is dealing with multiple conflicts at once. Its military is fighting Hamas in Gaza and Rafah, and now Hezbollah has joined the fray by launching rockets from southern Lebanon into northern area. Fortunately, Israel’s Iron Dome defense system shot down most of the rockets before they could hit the Galilee Panhandle, the area between northern Israel and southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah’s rocket attack followed an Israeli airstrike in Deir Syria, a city in southern Lebanon, which killed a 17-year-old boy and injured six others. Earlier that morning, an Israeli drone strike in Bajourih, near Tyre, killed Ali Abd Ali, a major Hezbollah operative backed by Iran. The Israeli military called him a ‘key terrorist’ working for Hezbollah’s Southern Front, which oversees the group’s activities in southern Lebanon.
The conflict began when Hezbollah fired rockets at a football field in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on July 28, killing 12 children. In response, Israel promised to retaliate against Hezbollah like it did with Hamas. Two days later, on July 30, Israel launched a major airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon, killing Hezbollah’s top commander, Fouad Shukr. Israel blamed Shukr for the rocket attack on the Golan Heights.
Since then, Israel has been repeatedly targeting Hezbollah’s bases in Lebanon. The US Embassy in Lebanon has advised its citizens to leave immediately using “any available ticket” due to fears of a wider war between Israel and Hezbollah. The British government has also told its citizens in Lebanon to leave right away. Tensions have risen further with the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Iran and Hamas claim Israel is responsible for his death, but Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement.
Iran has accused the US of being involved in the killing of Ismail Haniya, the head of Hamas’s political wing. Haniya was killed in Tehran on July 31, 2024, after a bomb destroyed the house where he was staying. He had been in Tehran to attend the inauguration of Iran’s new President, Masoud Pezeshkian. The US has denied any involvement in the attack and claims it has no information about it. In response to the rising tensions between Iran and Israel, the US is increasing its military presence in the Middle East to protect its personnel and support Israel.
