After Israel was bombarded with more than 180 ballistic missiles from Iran on Tuesday, an attack on the country continued Wednesday morning with rockets being fired from Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah.
No injuries from the latest barrage of rockets have been reported, according to the Jewish News Syndicate and the Times of Israel. The publications reported that the rockets were fired toward the Western Galilee and Haifa Bay area.
On Wednesday morning, ahead of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, the Israel Defense Forces Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi released a statement about the Iranian attack and the military’s next steps.
“On the eve of the holiday, the IDF is operating and striking on all fronts,” he said.
“IDF soldiers will mark the holiday in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Judea and Samaria, and on all the borders, with reinforced forces and heightened readiness.”
Also on Wednesday, the IDF released the names of those killed “during combat against Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon” in a post on X.
More IDF soldiers join the fight against Hezbollah in Lebanon
The IDF is intensifying its ground operations against Hezbollah.
“The 36th Division, including soldiers of the Golani Brigade, 188th Armored Brigade, 6th Infantry Brigade and additional forces are joining the limited, localized, targeted raids on Hezbollah terror targets and terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon that began on Monday,” the IDF announced.
The Israeli Air Force and 282nd Artillery Brigade are supporting ground forces.
The 98th Division and the 7th Brigade’s armoured units have been preparing for the ground invasion for several weeks. The 98th Division joined the Northern Command after months of fighting Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
The IDF on Wednesday for a second consecutive day called on people to evacuate villages in Southern Lebanon.
Israeli Prime Minister calls Iranian attack ‘big mistake’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Tehran in the aftermath of the attack that it “made a big mistake and will pay for it.”
He also said at the start of a Security Cabinet meeting held in a secure bunker in Jerusalem that the strike on Israel “failed” and was “thwarted thanks to Israel’s air defense system, which is the most advanced in the world.”
“The regime in Iran does not understand our determination to defend ourselves and our determination to retaliate against our enemies. They will understand. We will stand by the rule we established: whoever attacks us, we will attack him,” Netanyahu said.
UN chief demands an end to the escalating violence in the Middle East
The United Nations chief is demanding a halt to the escalation of “tit-for-tat violence” that he warned is leading people in the Middle East “straight over the cliff.”
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council Wednesday that in just a week the alarming situation in Lebanon has gone from bad “to much, much worse.”
“It is absolutely essential to avoid an all-out war in Lebanon, which would have profound and devastating consequences,” he said.
Guterres strongly condemned Tuesday’s Iranian missile attack against Israel. He also criticized attacks against Israel by Hamas from Gaza and Hezbollah from Lebanon, and he lambasted Israel for the “most deadly and destructive military campaign in my years as secretary-general” — referring to the conflict in Gaza in response to Hamas’ October 7 attacks.
“It is high time for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza,” he said. “It is high time for a cessation of hostilities in Lebanon. … It is high time to stop the sickening cycle of escalation after escalation that is leading the people of the Middle East straight over the cliff.”
With additional reporting by the Jewish News Syndicate and the Associated Press
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