The Israeli military says Hezbollah has fired about 250 rockets across the border with Lebanon, marking one of the heaviest bombardments on Israel since fighting intensified in September.
Several people were injured and buildings were damaged in northern and central Israel, including some near Tel Aviv, Israeli police said.
The attacks followed an Israeli airstrike on central Beirut on Saturday that killed 29 people, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
Also on Sunday, Israeli media widely reported that Israel and Lebanon were moving toward a ceasefire deal to end fighting with the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah.
Following reports of heavy shelling from Lebanon, Israeli police said they had received reports of rocket debris falling in the Tel Aviv area.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said a direct hit on one neighborhood left “houses in flames and ruins.”
Rockets struck Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv, and some northern areas: Haifa, Nahariya and Kfar Blum, Israeli media reported.
Hezbollah, which has previously pledged to respond to attacks on Beirut by targeting Tel Aviv, said it has launched precision missiles at two military sites in the city and surrounding areas.
Later, the IDF said it had carried out attacks on 12 Hezbollah command centers in Dahieh, a stronghold of the group in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry on Sunday raised the death toll from 20 to 29 following a massive Israeli attack launched without warning on central Beirut. A total of 84 people were said to have been killed in the country on Saturday.
The IDF has not commented on Saturday’s attack, but Israeli media reported at the time that it was an attempt to kill Mohammed Haydar, a top Hezbollah official.
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‘Aren’t we human?’: Anger in Beirut as massive Israeli attack kills 20 people
Israel’s goal in its war against Hezbollah is to allow the return of some 60,000 residents driven from communities in northern Israel due to the group’s attacks.
According to Lebanese authorities, more than 3,670 people have been killed and at least 15,400 injured in Lebanon since October 2023, with more than a million people displaced from their homes.
Over the past two weeks, Israel has intensified its campaign against Hezbollah.
On Sunday, Israeli public broadcaster Kan, citing Israeli and US officials, reported that Israel had given a “green light” to advance a US-proposed ceasefire deal with Lebanon, but indicated that work remains to be done some gaps remained.
