One person was critically wounded from rocket fire in Kibbutz Kabri in the North on Thursday morning.
The military said that in addition to several drones from Lebanon that fell inside Israel, “a number of suspicious aerial targets identified coming from Lebanon toward Israeli territory” were intercepted.
The Israel Air Force responded by striking a number of Hezbollah terror targets in southern Lebanon.
According to the army’s announcement, targets included military structures in the areas of Yarine and Ramyeh and terrorist infrastructure sites in the areas of Jibbain and Tayr Harfa.
Hezbollah and Israel have been trading fire for nearly nine months in hostilities that have played out parallel to the Gaza conflict, raising fears of an all-out war between the heavily armed adversaries.
Residents of Gaza City say this week’s assault was comparable to the fiercest battle of the war, which destroyed the enclave’s oldest and biggest settlement in the first weeks of fighting last year.
Home to more than a quarter of the Gaza Strip’s residents before the war, Gaza City was largely razed to the ground in late 2023, but hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have returned to homes in the ruins. They have now once again been ordered out by the Israeli military. Many say they won’t go.
“We will die but not leave to the south. We have tolerated starvation and bombs for nine months, and we are ready to die as martyrs here,” said Mohammad Ali, 30, reached by text message.
Ali, whose family has relocated several times within the city, said they had been running short of food, water, and medicine.
“(Israel) bombs Gaza City as if the war was restarting. We hope there will be a ceasefire soon, but if not then let it be God’s will.”
The IDF told Gaza City residents on Wednesday to use two “safe routes” to head south. Some posted a hashtag on social media: “We are not leaving.”
Asked by Reuters to comment on its operations in Gaza City, the Israeli military said in a statement its forces were working to dismantle Hamas capabilities and that it “follows international law and takes feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm.” It said the same was not true of Hamas.