Hezbollah's recent actions have raised significant concerns. In a notable development, Lebanon's Hezbollah launched its first-ever attack on Israeli military positions using explosive drones. This marked a dangerous escalation in the ongoing clashes at the border, which had been ongoing for over three weeks.
In response to these drone attacks, the Israeli army targeted multiple Hezbollah positions in Lebanon. This was in reaction to a series of drone launches towards Israel, as reported on the social media platform X. The Lebanon National News Agency confirmed that Israeli artillery shells struck various areas along the southern border.
Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, claimed responsibility for the attack and disclosed the use of two drones loaded with explosives to target an Israeli army command post in the disputed Shebaa Farms area along the Lebanese-Israeli border.
This incident occurred shortly after Hezbollah acknowledged using a surface-to-air missile to target an Israeli drone. The Shebaa Farms, a 15-square-mile (39-square-km) region, has been a source of contention since the 1967 Middle East war, with both Syria and Lebanon asserting that it belongs to Lebanon, while Israel maintains control over it.
Hezbollah militants have been engaged in ongoing exchanges of fire with Israeli forces along the Israeli-Lebanese border since the start of the conflict between the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel on October 7. This marks the deadliest escalation at the frontier since the 2006 war.
Hezbollah's leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, is scheduled to deliver his first public speech since the beginning of the violence on Friday, and this address is eagerly anticipated in the region.