Hezbollah chief sets ceasefire talk conditions as rocket fire on central Israel escalates, killing one and wounding 3

Hezbollah fired over 150 rockets at Israel on Wednesday, with several heavy barrages targeting northern and central Israel killing a foreign worker and wounding three people.

Meanwhile, the group published a pre-recorded video message by its new leader Naim Qassem, in which he demanded that hostilities end before he would agree to hold ceasefire talks with Israel and generally continued his militant rhetoric.

Throughout Wednesday, the fortieth day since the terror group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed, Hezbollah launched numerous, smaller volleys of rockets and several drones at northern Israel. However, the terror group also fired several heavy barrages that caused casualties and considerable damage.

Just before noon, red alert warning apps flashed across central Israel, as alarm sirens were triggered across the greater Tel Aviv area, from Hadera in the north to Holon in the south, after the launch of around 10 rockets. More sirens sounded near the Lebanese border, including in Nahariya and Yarka.

Red alerts as of 21:00 today, November 06, 2024:

🔸 Red alerts: 322 (310 rocket alerts, 12 UAV alerts) in 12 regions.
🔸 Unique areas with sirens: 252

⭕️ Gaza Envelope — Netiv HaAssara (×2)
⭕️ Confrontation Line — Ma'ayan Baruch, Ma'a lot Tarshicha, Kfar Szold (×2), Gesher… pic.twitter.com/nsjQqiVMdt

— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) November 6, 2024

Hezbollah claimed to have targeted the IDF’s Tzrifin base while using the Iranian Fateh 110 precision missile for the first time.

One rocket hit a parking lot within the area of Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport without causing major damage. The impact caused a delay of flights for several minutes.

Another shrapnel piece speared a parked car in the town of Ra’anana, while rocket parts fell on a kindergarten in Kfar Habad. The children reached the shelter in time and remained unharmed.

Some hours later, a 50-rocket volley was fired at the border town of Avivim, wounding three people and causing heavy damage to at least 12 buildings.

Ein schwerer Raketenangriff der Hisbollah auf Obergaliläa verletzte drei Menschen leicht bis mittelschwer und beschädigte 12 Häuser im Moshav Avivim.#Israel pic.twitter.com/fWZHXSWLwU

— Fabian פביאן 🎗️ (@Fabi_el__) November 6, 2024

Two people were evacuated in moderate condition and another was treated for light injuries after several rockets hit the town. 15 fire crews were called up to douse the resulting fires in the area.

“Large parts of the moshav were burned - houses, property, a packaging house and agricultural areas. My heart hurts,” Eyal Peretz, a member of the moshav committee, told Ynet News.

In the afternoon, rocket alarm sirens were activated in central Israel again, particularly around the airport.

The IDF said the alarm was triggered by a single ballistic missile, which was intercepted. Some flights experienced temporary delays but the Airports Authority said that the airport returned to routine activity soon after.

Finally, a barrage of some 25 rockets targeted the Haifa Bay area, including suburbs of Haifa, the town of Acre, and several nearby towns in the evening.

Some hours later, Israeli media reported that the body of a foreign worker was found in an open area near Kfar Masaryk. The man had apparently died from serious shrapnel wounds caused by the rocket attack.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem gave his second speech in his new post on Wednesday, claiming his group was “in a defensive phase against the enemy’s expansionist intentions.”

While assuring Israel that Hezbollah’s capabilities remained unharmed, Qassem warned that the group would not be looking for a ceasefire: “It's the enemy who will be begging for a halt to the fighting,” Qassem claimed.

The Shia cleric also noted that the outcome of the U.S. presidential election would not change his group’s positions.

“When the enemy decides to halt its aggression, we will establish an indirect negotiation process through [Lebanese parliament speaker] Nabih Berri. These negotiations will be based on two conditions: an end to hostilities and respect for Lebanese sovereignty,” said Qassem.

In response to the heavy rocket fire from Lebanon, the IDF carried out extensive airstrikes in Hezbollah’s stronghold, the Dahiyeh district in Beirut.

“Besides the political attempt to reach agreements in Lebanon - we need to continue formulating the plans for the continuation of the fighting in Lebanon, including the expansion and deepening of the maneuver - and we will activate these plans as necessary,” IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi warned.

Israeli fighter jets struck a series of Hezbollah sites in Beirut's southern suburbs earlier today, the IDF announces.

According to the IDF, the targets included Hezbollah command rooms, weapon depots, and other infrastructure.

All of the Hezbollah sites were located "in the… pic.twitter.com/ptNCAJ1Lp6

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) November 6, 2024

“We continue to attack Hezbollah targets according to a plan in the entire area - in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa, Beirut and Syria.”

Israeli fighter jets struck headquarters, weapons warehouses and military infrastructure in the Dahiyeh, the IDF stated, adding that “the targets that were attacked were set up by Hezbollah in the heart of a civilian population. This is another example of Hezbollah’s exploitation of Lebanese citizens as human shields.”

Earlier Wednesday, the IDF said it killed a Hezbollah battalion commander in al-Khiam, while dozens more terrorists were killed in airstrikes and in the ground fighting.