The Israeli army executed the largest simultaneous airstrike on Lebanese territory since the onset of the war on Wednesday, targeting four districts in two governorates. This operation resulted in the deaths of three civilians and a fighter from "Hezbollah," in response to a wide-ranging attack carried out by the group on military targets along the border, which led to the death of a soldier in the city of Safed and injured seven others. This escalation was the most intense wave of conflict, followed by an Israeli threat holding the Lebanese state responsible for the rockets fired toward Israel, coinciding with Israeli warplanes flying at low altitude over Beirut.
The Israeli army announced in a brief statement that its aircraft had begun conducting extensive strikes in Lebanon without providing additional details. This occurred simultaneously with fighter jets executing strikes in the towns of Adchit in the Nabatieh district, Al-Sawana in the Marjayoun district, Al-Shihabiya in the Tyre district, Zahletta, Jabal Al-Rihane, and Basalia in the Jezzine district, and Jbaa in the Nabatieh district. With the exception of Jabal Al-Rihane, these villages were bombed for the first time, most of which are located north of the Litani River, spread across the southern and Nabatieh governorates, and within four districts in the two governorates.
The strikes resulted in the deaths of four individuals, one of whom was a fighter from Hezbollah in Adchit, and three were a woman and her two children in the town of Al-Sawana, in addition to injuring nine others. The strike in Al-Sawana led to the complete destruction of a house, while the raid in Adchit destroyed a three-story building, with debris scattered on the main road causing a traffic accident involving three cars, resulting in additional injuries.
Lebanese media did not report on the damages targeting other areas, although images surfaced showing smoke rising from forests in the Jezzine area. Residents of Sidon and the Chouf region in Mount Lebanon adjacent to Jezzine reported hearing massive explosions resulting from the Israeli shelling.
The Israeli airstrikes were accompanied by a threat articulated by Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz, who stated that "the responsible parties for the rocket launches from Lebanon are not just Hezbollah or terrorist elements, but also the Lebanese government and state that allow such attacks from their territory."
Earlier, Hezbollah had conducted extensive attacks on Wednesday morning against Israeli military sites along the border, with one of the rockets reaching Safed, resulting in the death of an Israeli woman according to Israeli government sources, while seven others were injured, one of them severely, as reported by Israeli media.
The Israeli army reported hearing alarm sirens in the bordering Maanara area and in northern Nto'ah, and confirmed it responded by shelling border areas. An Israeli security source told the Israeli Broadcasting Authority "Kan 11" regarding the targeting of an Israeli military base in Safed from Lebanon that "this is an escalation from Hezbollah; despite attacking the source of fire, we have not said our final word."
The attack triggered a reaction from the Israeli Minister of National Security who described it as a declaration of war. He stated, "This is war; it's time to abandon the assumptions currently in place in the north." An Israeli report indicated that Ben Gvir's office had requested a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the targeting of the military base in Safed.
This targeting does not appear to be a significant escalation from Hezbollah, considering that the targets hit were solely military and did not affect civilian infrastructures or civilians. However, it represents the most extensive simultaneous bombing in at least two months, seemingly sending a field message in response to Israeli threats. Conversely, the Israeli shelling is not seen as an escalation in the ongoing war, but it concurrently carries field messages about Israel's capability to execute strikes in various areas simultaneously, as evidenced by the geographical scope of the raids coordinated with artillery shelling, alongside other aerial bombardments in border villages that have been subjected to shelling daily since October 8, including the towns of Al-Jibeen, Ramya, and the outskirts of Naqoura.
