Israel-Lebanon tensions rise after rockets fired

Media affiliated with Houthi rebels in Yemen have accused the US of attacking the airport in Hodeida.

A local official told Yemen's official news agency Saba that the "US aggression" targeted the international airport with three airstrikes.

The Iran-backed rebels have been making similar accusations since Wednesday, when the US confirmed "continuous operations" against the Yemeni group.

US President Donald Trump has said the rebels, who control most of Yemen including the capital Sanaa, will be "annihilated."

The US on March 15 announced a wave of airstrikes which officials say killed senior Houthi leaders. The rebels' health ministry said 53 people had been killed in the strikes.

Those attacks — the first since Trump returned to the White House in January — were in response to the Houthis threatening to restart their attacks on Israel and Israeli cargo ships.

Israel on Thursday said it had intercepted a missile launched by the Houthis, the second targeting Israel since the Gaza ceasefire collapsed earlier this week.

The Yemeni rebels' drone and missile strikes started in the wake of Israel's campaign against Hamas in Gaza.

These attacks in the Red Sea, which began in late 2023, have significantly affected global shipping and trade.

The Houthis have pledged to continue the attacks until the conflict in Gaza ends. 

Thousands of Israelis demonstrated in Tel Aviv against the government's plan to fire the head of the Shin Bet domestic spy agency.

Waving blue and white Israeli flags in Tel Aviv's Habima Square, the protesters also lamented the resumption of fighting in Gaza and called for a deal with Hamas to ensure the remaining hostages are freed.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this week he had lost confidence in Ronen Bar, who has led Shin Bet since 2021.

Israel's Supreme Court issued an injunction on Friday temporarily freezing the firing, which is set to take effect on April 10.

Critics have accused Netanyahu of undermining democracy by seeking Bar's removal.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid called for a general strike if the PM goes ahead with the dismissal.

If the government "decides to disobey the Court's decision it will become a government outside of the law," he told demonstrators in Tel Aviv. "If that happens, the entire country should stop."

The United States embassy in Israel has warned Americans there to avoid large gatherings following the escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

The embassy also urged US citizens to know the location of the nearest shelter in the event of attacks on Israeli soil.

"The security environment is complex and can change quickly," the embassy said in an alert posted on its website. "Be aware of your surroundings."

The warning came as the Israeli military said it had launched a second wave of strikes in Lebanon against Hezbollah targets.

Israel has also witnessed large protests in recent days over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet domestic intelligence service.

Israel's Defense Ministry said the country's military was carrying out a second wave of strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

The ministry said the bombardment was ordered by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on "dozens of Hezbollah targets."

Lebanon's Health Ministry said one of the strikes on the coastal city of Tyre killed one person and wounded seven others.

Earlier Saturday, Israel said it had struck Hezbollah rocket launchers and a command center in southern Lebanon.

The Israeli moves come in retaliation for rockets fired from across the Israeli-Lebanon border earlier in the day.

An Israeli official said six rockets were fired, three of which crossed into Israel and were intercepted.

Hezbollah denied responsibility for Saturday's rocket fire, saying it remained committed to the ceasefire, reached in November.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Lebanon's Health Ministry said the Israeli strike on the southern Lebanese town of Touline killed two people and wounded eight others.

A girl was among the two deaths, and two children were among the wounded, the ministry added.

News agencies had earlier reported one death in Touline.

Hezbollah denied responsibility for the rockets fired from Lebanon into Israel, stating that it remains committed to the ceasefire.

"The Israeli enemy's claims are merely pretexts to justify its ongoing aggression against Lebanon, which has not stopped since the announcement of the ceasefire," the Iran-backed group said.

Hezbollah's statement came after Israel said it had hit Hezbollah rocket launchers and a command centre in retaliation for three rockets fired from Lebanon.

Hezbollah said it remained committed to the ceasefire agreement reached with Israel in November and "stands behind the Lebanese state" in addressing what the group described as a serious Israeli escalation.

No group claimed responsibility for Saturday's rocket launches towards Israel. 

The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) issued a statement after the Israeli military struck targets in Lebanon following a rocket salvo fired into northern Israel.

"UNIFIL remains alarmed by the possible escalation of violence" after projectiles were launched from Lebanon into Israel triggering "immediate retaliation by the IDF."

The Israeli military said in a statement Saturday afternoon that it struck "dozens of Hezbollah rocket launchers and a command center from which Hezbollah terrorists were operating in southern Lebanon."

Lebanese media reported one person was killed and three injured in an Israeli airstrike on a village in south Lebanon.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Saturday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military "to act forcefully against dozens of terror targets in Lebanon" in response to rocket fire towards Israel from Lebanon. 

Earlier Saturday, the IDF said it intercepted rockets targeting the northern Israeli border town of Metula.

Israel said it was still determining who launched the rocket fire, but defense officials said they hold the Lebanese government responsible for preventing hostile fire from its territory. 

Hezbollah said it had "no link" to the rocket launches and insisted it was still committed to the ceasefire. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Israeli media reported the army used artillery fire to target the site from which the rockets were launched.

Lebanese security sources told Germany's DPA news agency that Israeli artillery fire targeted the village of Yohmor and the hills of al-Hamames, across the border from Metula.

In Lebanon, Israeli fighter jets were reported flying over southern regions of the country.

Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir said Saturday that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would "respond severely to the morning's attack," after it reported three rockets fired Lebanon were intercepted in northern Israel.

The Israeli military said it was still investigating who could have fired the rockets.

Lebanon's official news agency reported Israeli air and artillery strikes in areas of southern Lebanon on Saturday. No casualties were reported.

Before a November ceasefire, Israel pummeled targets in Beirut, while deploying ground troops in southern Lebanon during a two-month offensive against Lebanese militia Hezbollah.

The Iran-backed militant group began attacking Israel with rockets and artillery a day after the Hamas terror attacks on October 7, 2023.

Since then, thousands of residents in northern Israeli towns have been displaced. The Lebanese Health Ministry in November 2024 estimated more than 3,000 people in Lebanon had been killed in the 13-months of conflict.

Lebanon's prime minister, Nawaf Salam, on Saturday warned that renewed Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon risks "dragging the country into a new war, which will bring woes to Lebanon and the Lebanese people," he said in a statement.

Salam's statement came as Israel promised a "severe response" to rockets fired into Israel from Lebanon earlier in the day. Lebanese media reported Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon shortly after.

On Saturday morning, Israeli's army said it intercepted three rockets from Lebanon. Air raid sirens were heard in the Israeli border town of Metula, and the army said it was the first time sirens were sounded in response to rocket fire from Lebanon since November 2024.

The exchange of cross-border fire on Saturday was the first such incident on the Israel-Lebanon border since Israel resumed military operations targeting Hamas in Gaza, effectively abandoning a ceasefire there. 

 

The Israeli military said it intercepted three rockets fired into northern Israel from a location in Lebanon early Saturday, in the first such attack since a cease-fire with Lebanese militant group Hezbollah took hold in November.

Israel did not immediately specify who fired the rockets. However, Defense Minister Israel Katz said that the Lebanese government bears responsibility for upholding the ceasefire. 

"We will not allow rocket fire from Lebanon on the Galilee communities. We promised security to the communities of the Galilee — and that is exactly how it will be. The rule for Metula is the rule for Beirut," Katz said in a statement, referring to the town in northern Israel near where the rockets were intercepted. 

The US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah stipulates that the Lebanese government is responsible for removing military infrastructure and weaponry from southern Lebanon.

This includes stationing troops in the region and ensuring Hezbollah does not posses weapons. In return, Israeli troops were to withdraw from the region. However, both sides have accused the other of failing to fully adhere to the ceasefire.

 

Today, we are looking at renewed tensions threatening a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon after cross-border rocket fire.