Safed in the crosshairs: Hezbollah again targets northern city with over 60 rockets during Sabbath

Northern Israel sees tense weekend as exchanges continue throughout Saturday

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The city of Safed was the main target of Hezbollah’s attacks over the past weekend, as the terror group fired over 60 rockets at the northern city on Saturday after launching a 20-rocket-barrage early on Friday.

Safed has a population of approximately 38,000 residents and is located around 13 kilometers (8 miles) from the Lebanese border. Unlike communities within a 5 km radius of the border, Safed hasn’t been evacuated but also hasn’t been a frequent Hezbollah target so far.

Following the rocket attacks on Friday, the IDF struck Hezbollah rocket launchers, military buildings and a weapons warehouse in southern Lebanon later that evening.

Hezbollah once again fired a nighttime rocket barrage a few hours later, a tactic the terror group hasn't used often during the 11 months of fighting so far. The IDF said that about five rocket launches targeting the area of Safed were detected about 1 a.m. on Saturday.

Another five hours later, the IDF intercepted a drone near Gornot HaGalil. Then, between 8 and 9 a.m., Hezbollah fired another 55 rockets at Safed and its surroundings in two separate volleys.

Safed, Northern Israel 📍

During Jewish Selichot prayers, Hezbollah fired hundreds of rockets at civilians last night.

No country would ever tolerate this. pic.twitter.com/R1HTm7xrHm
— Shurat HaDin - שורת הדין (@ShuratHaDin) September 13, 2024

The Israeli army reported that it struck several launchers used in earlier rocket launches, in addition to several other Hezbollah targets across southern Lebanon.

A Hezbollah drone later exploded and damaged a building in Rosh Pina, while two more drones struck near Kiryat Shmona and Margaliot.

The Israeli Air Force carried out another wave of airstrikes and artillery bombardments early on Saturday afternoon, which reportedly included the elimination of two operatives of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Unit in the Western Bekaa Valley, deep in Lebanese territory.

There were no Israeli casualties as a result of Hezbollah’s attacks over the weekend, however, rocket impacts damaged some buildings and caused wildfires.

U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein is set to return to Israel on Monday to continue U.S.-led efforts for a diplomatic solution to the fighting between Hezbollah and Israel. Last week, an unnamed senior U.S. official had warned against “catastrophic and unforeseen consequences” of an all-out war.

Hochstein's trip is part of the ongoing efforts to prevent such a war, said White House Spokesman John Kirby.

While Israel has expressed its desire to avoid escalation, the government reiterated that evacuated northern residents could only return once the concrete threat from Hezbollah was removed.

On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his plans to declare the return of the northern evacuees to their homes as one of the war’s main goals, a move widely seen as a potential preparation for the intensification of Israel’s operation on the northern border.

On the Lebanese side, Hezbollah’s deputy leader, Naim Qassem, reiterated that the forces were not concerned about threats of war, and that only an end to the war in Gaza would enable the return of the Israeli evacuees.

Hezbollah has no plan to initiate a war, Qassem said while warning that if Israel launched a war, it would experience great losses and see even more citizens displaced.