Lebanon Launches Retaliatory Rockets After Israel Strikes Hezbollah Stronghold: Report

The incident occurred just a day after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited Gaza's doorstep, urging a ceasefire to facilitate aid delivery.

Smoke billows from the area of an Israeli air strike on the southern Lebanese village of Khiam near the border with Israel on March 23, 2024.

Source : Getty Images

Israel launched an airstrike on Baalbek, a key stronghold of Hezbollah in eastern Lebanon, news agency Reuters reported on Sunday citing two security sources within Lebanon.

In response, Hezbollah claimed to have targeted an Israeli missile and artillery base in Yoav and the Kaila barracks with over 60 Katyusha (a type of rocket artillery) rockets, citing retaliation for the strike on Baalbek, the report said. 

It is to be noted that the development comes just a day after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited Gaza's doorstep, urging a ceasefire to facilitate aid delivery, citing the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, as reported by AFP.

As Israeli forces continued their operations, Palestinian officials reported 19 casualties at an aid distribution point on the outskirts of Gaza City recently. Read the full report here.

AFP citing Hamas authorities in Gaza said that at least 19 people were killed and numerous others injured due to Israeli tank fire and shells while awaiting much-needed supplies.

As per the AFP report, the Israeli military refuted claims of firing upon the crowd, stating, "Preliminary findings have determined that there was no aerial strike against the convoy, nor were there incidents found of (Israeli) forces firing at the people at the aid convoy". 

This incident echoes a similar event earlier in the month when Israeli fire allegedly resulted in the deaths of 20 people seeking aid in the same location. The military attributed the casualties to "armed Palestinians" opening fire on the crowd, according to the AFP report.

The ongoing conflict, sparked by Hamas's attack on southern Israel on October 7, has exacerbated the already dire humanitarian situation in the besieged Gaza Strip.