Rocket fire from Lebanon killed five people in the deadliest attack on northern Israel since the invasion

TEL AVIV, Israel — Rocket fire from Lebanon killed five people in northern Israel on Thursday, including four foreign workers, in the deadliest such attack since Israel’s invasion earlier this month.

The militant group Hezbollah has launched rockets, drones and rockets into Israel and drawn retaliatory strikes since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack in the Gaza Strip sparked the war there. Hezbollah and Hamas are allies supported by Iran.

The conflict along the border escalated into full-scale war last month when Israel launched a wave of heavy airstrikes in Lebanon and killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and most of his deputies. Israeli ground forces pushed into Lebanon in early October.

The Metula regional council reported Thursday’s attack, without elaborating on the number or type of projectiles used. The nationalities of the workers were also not immediately known.

Metula, Israel’s northernmost city, which is surrounded by Lebanon on three sides, suffered severe damage from the rockets. The town’s residents were evacuated in October 2023, and only security officials and farm workers remained.

The attack took place while senior US diplomats were in the region to push for a ceasefire in Lebanon and Gazahoping to end the wars in the Middle East in the final months of the Biden administration. The mediators are circulating new proposals to withdraw regional conflict.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military warned people to evacuate from several areas in southern Lebanon as airstrikes across the country killed at least eight people.

Also Thursday, Palestinian officials said an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank killed three people. The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike and a third by Israeli gunfire.

The Israeli military said its forces were targeting militants in the area Nur Shams refugee campwhich has seen repeated battles in recent months. The army said it had eliminated a Hamas militant who was involved in planning attacks on Israelis.

Also Thursday, Israeli police said they had arrested a couple accused of spying on Israeli intelligence websites and gathering information about an Israeli academic on behalf of Iran.

to Hezbollah newly appointed leader, Naim Kassemsaid the militant group will keep fighting his war with Israel until it is offered ceasefire terms it deems acceptable.

About 1.2 million people were displaced by conflict in Lebanonaccording to government estimates. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said more than 2,800 people had been killed and 12,900 wounded since October 8, 2023, when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel, drawing retaliation. Israeli ground forces invaded southern Lebanon in early October.

Death toll from more than a year of Israel-Hamas war in Gaza it exceeded 43,000, Palestinian officials reported Monday, without distinguishing between civilians and combatants. The war began after Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing an estimated 1,200 people – mostly civilians – and kidnapping another 250.

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Frankel reported from Jerusalem.

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