Hezbollah has fired dozens of rockets from Lebanon into northern Israel, calling it retaliation for Israeli attacks last week. Israel’s military says its Iron Dome defence system intercepted some, but not all, of the projectiles.
In the overnight and early morning hours Hezbollah pounded northern Israel and the Western Galilee with at least 30 rockets. While Israel's military says intercepted some of the rockets, it is clear from widely circulating videos (though unverified) that many of them got through Israel's sophisticated anti-air systems.
IRON DOME FAILURE!!! pic.twitter.com/6tgd8CFTW5
— Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) August 12, 2024
A number of regional analysts are remarking on the utter failure of Israel's Iron Dome air defense system during the salvo; however, Ynet says many rockets struck open fields and uninhabited areas, causing fires.
Lebanese Hezbollah said the target was an IDF military installation near Kibbutz Ga’aton. The Israeli side reported no casualties in the wake of the overnight assault. A regional source indicates that "One of Israel’s interceptors hit the Hydro Therapy Centre located in the Mount Hermon region, damaging a building."
The Iran-backed Lebanese paramilitary group has been vowing revenge for the assassination strike by Israel of senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut on July 30. The next day, an Israeli operation in Tehran killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Israel says it is busy strengthening defenses ahead of the still anticipated Iranian response, which is expected to include stepped-up Hezbollah action.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told a meeting of defense leader, "We are in the days of vigilance and readiness, the threats from Tehran and Beirut may materialize and it is important to explain to everyone that readiness, preparedness, and vigilance are not synonyms for fear and panic."
As for the claims of the Iron Dome utterly failing in the latest attack, others pointed to the following video, which like the above remains unverified...
The Irone Dome at work last night, shooting down Hezbollah rockets over northern Israel pic.twitter.com/2JdYjXsncP
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) August 12, 2024
Israeli officials are meanwhile monitoring Lebanese media reports which say Hezbollah has entirely evacuated its Beirut headquarters in anticipation of a significant flareup.
Some Hezbollah-aligned Lebanese politicians have also issued new threats:
Nabih Berri, the speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon and a staunch Hezbollah ally, says of a tensely anticipated joint Iranian and Hezbollah attack on Israel that "revenge is a dish best served cold."
He warns that the “response is inevitable” after the recent killings of top Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
Below: Iron Dome missiles have reportedly landed on Israeli residences over the last several days. Last week a 27-year old man was critically injured by a malfunctioning Iron Dome interceptor missile when it fell on a northern highway he was traversing.
The Pentagon has said it is speeding up its naval assets heading to regional waters, including the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group and the deployment of the USS Georgia guided missile submarine, in anticipation for a potential Iranian attack on Israel.
