Over 400 houses damaged by Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel as daily fire continues

The Israeli Defense Ministry on Thursday published statistics showing, for the first time, the scale of destruction the daily border skirmishes with the Hezbollah terror organization have wrought on northern Israeli communities.

Since Hezbollah began its daily attacks on Israel in October, 427 houses have suffered structural damage, with 80 of them being seriously damaged as a result of direct hits.

According to similar statistics by the Israeli Tax Authority, Ynet News reported that over 500 houses were damaged by Hezbollah fire from Lebanon.

The report added that the three hardest hit communities are the towns of Metula, with 131 damaged homes, Shlomi with 130, and Kibbutz Manara with 121 damaged houses.

All three communities lie within 5 km (about 3 mi) of the border and, therefore, evacuated their citizens. Some 80,000 people remain internal refugees within the State of Israel.

Hezbollah has shown no sign of slowing down its daily attacks. On Thursday alone, the group launched 15 rockets and 5 anti-tank guided missiles at Israeli targets, according to the group Lobby 1701, which represents the evacuated Israeli residents.

The terror group claimed one of its attacks had targeted an Israeli observation base on snow-covered Mount Hermon, the highest mountain in the country.

Oha! Auch im Libanon liegt Schnee. Zumindest auf dem Berg Hermon an der israelisch-libanesischen Grenze, wo die #Hezbollah einen israelischen Beobachtungsposten beschiesst. pic.twitter.com/NHS4EVOxIy

— Debaser🇨🇭🇩🇪 (@Debaser83994181) February 2, 2024

On Friday morning, Hezbollah rocket launches activated alarms in the Israeli towns of Kiryat Shmona, Tel Hai, Kfar Yuval and Ma’ayan Baruch, without causing damage or injuries.

The group reiterated its aggressive rhetoric toward Israel in several forums this week. Its deputy leader, Naim Kassem, said Hezbollah was not interested in discussing Israeli demands for a withdrawal of its forces from the border.

“With the end of the fighting in Gaza, the fighting will also stop in southern Lebanon,” Kassem said.

On Thursday, one of the terror group’s representatives in the Lebanese parliament, Mohammed Raad, claimed that the skirmishes are “the result of the enemy’s insistence on dictating new ground realities to impose its conditions on Lebanon in a way that violates its sovereignty and the security of its people.”

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi toured the northern border and visited Israeli troops, many of whom are reservists and have been stationed there since October in a defensive posture.

Thanking the troops for their service, Halevi told them: “We will return the residents only when it is safe here. It requires professionalism, readiness and patience from us.”

In reaction to Hezbollah’s attacks, the IDF stated that launch areas were struck, as well as the military infrastructure of the group in Tir Harfa, located in southern Lebanon.