Jerusalem, 12 March (H.S.): Lebanon's Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah launched a massive rocket and missile assault on northern Israel Wednesday, dubbing the operation Al-Asf Al-Ma'koul (The Devouring Storm), in retaliation for repeated Israeli strikes on Lebanese territory including Beirut's southern suburbs.
The group claimed its fighters targeted key Israeli military sites, including the Northern Command headquarters near Safed, bases in Haifa, and positions around Kiryat Shmona and Nahariyya, firing dozens of rockets and advanced missiles in coordinated volleys.
Air raid sirens blared across Haifa, Acre, the Krayot region, and even central areas like Tel Aviv and the Golan Heights, with Israel's public broadcaster KAN reporting approximately 100 projectiles in one of the largest single barrages since hostilities intensified this month.
While interceptions lit up the skies and some rockets fell in open areas, videos circulated showing direct impacts in northern Israel, though no immediate casualties were confirmed from this specific attack.
Israel's military swiftly vowed a severe response, with spokesperson Avichay Adraee stating on social media that forces would hit back double measure for measure, as warplanes struck Hezbollah rocket launchers and infrastructure across Lebanon in real-time.
This exchange unfolded hours after Israeli airstrikes pounded south Beirut, exacerbating a conflict that has claimed over 570 lives in Lebanon since early March, including civilians, amid a broader US-Israeli campaign following the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Hezbollah framed the operation as reprisal for criminal aggression on Lebanese cities, towns, and Beirut's Dahieh district, where the group maintains strongholds—a pattern echoing daily cross-border fire since March 2.
The IDF has since conducted limited ground incursions into southern Lebanon, destroying hundreds of Hezbollah targets linked to its elite Radwan Force, while sirens have sounded deeper into Israel amid joint Iran-Hezbollah actions.
As the Iran war spills over, UN officials decried the serious threat to peace, with over 600 Lebanese deaths reported, including children, and thousands injured—prompting evacuations and fears of wider regional chaos.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
