Hezbollah fires 60 rockets at IDF base on Golan Heights; Israel kills senior Hezbollah commander

The Lebanese terror organization Hezbollah fired some 60 rockets at an Israeli military base located on the Golan Heights on Monday amid growing escalation along the border between Lebanon and Israel.

There were no injuries reported from the heavy rocket barrage launched by Hezbollah forces, however, images on social media revealed that several Hezbollah rockets exploded close to a bus with Israeli school children, who swiftly exited the vehicle to take cover.

The Iranian-backed terror organization claimed that its rocket attack was a response to Israel's aerial strike against Hezbollah positions close to the Lebanese city of Baalbek.

“In response to the Zionist aggression near the city of Baalbek, Hezbollah fighters targeted the base in the occupied Golan Heights with 60 Katyusha rockets”, Hezbollah said in an official statement.

Footage circulating on social media shows rockets launched from Lebanon impacting close to a bus in the Golan Heights.

Hezbollah said it fired some 60 Katyusha rockets at an army base in the area.

There are no reports of injuries in the barrage. pic.twitter.com/bpXtFNOXK4

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) February 26, 2024

Hezbollah’s ongoing aggression against Israel began on Oct. 8, officially to show solidarity with Hamas terrorists who massacred over 1,200 Israelis the day before.

It was reportedly the first Israeli airstrike against Hezbollah in Baalbek since the outbreak of hostilities, which would make it the deepest strike in Lebanese territory. Baalbek is located over 62 miles (100 kilometers) from the Lebanon-Israel border.

Two Hezbollah terrorists, Hassan Ali Younes and Ahmad Mohammad Sindiyan, were eliminated in the Israeli strike, and three other Hezbollah operatives were injured.

In a separate strike, Israel eliminated the senior Hezbollah terrorist commander Hassan Hussein Salami in southern Lebanon.

Salami, who had the rank of brigade commander, was killed while driving in the village of Majadel.

The Israeli military reported that Salami was in charge of a Hezbollah unit responsible for terrorist attacks against both civilians and IDF soldiers in northern Israel. For instance, Salami had coordinated recent anti-missile attacks on the northern Israeli city Kiryat Shmona, as well as the base of the IDF's 769th “Hiram” Regional Brigade.

In a separate incident, an Israeli Air Force (IAF) drone was shot down by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Israel regularly uses drones both for surveillance and attack missions in Lebanon and Gaza.

Some pundits have warned that a full-scale war between Hezbollah and Israel is only a matter of time. Six Israeli civilians and 10 IDF soldiers have been killed so far during the ongoing skirmishes on Israel’s northern border.

Hezbollah has officially lost at least 219 operatives in the fighting, which corresponds to roughly 20 Hezbollah terrorists for each IDF soldier in the north. However, Israeli intelligence believes the actual number of Hezbollah terrorists that have been killed is much higher and that the terror group is trying to downplay its losses to maintain morale among its forces. In addition, 34 other terrorists who are not part of Hezbollah forces, along with 30 Lebanese civilians have been killed during the fighting.

Gaza and Lebanon are geographically separate war fronts, however, the Iranian regime supports Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon in its war against Israel. Tehran also finances and supports Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a smaller terrorist group with ties to Hamas and Hezbollah.

Earlier this month, Israeli media reported that hundreds of PIJ terrorists in Lebanon are part of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Commando forces. There have been seven reported attempts to infiltrate Israel from Lebanon since Oct. 7 were reportedly carried out by PIJ terrorists on behalf of Hezbollah.