HUNDREDS of Israeli civilians spent their night hiding in bomb shelters after Hezbollah launched over 100 rockets early Sunday.
Dramatic footage showed cars ablaze as the rockets were flying across a wider and deeper area of northern Israel, with some landing near the city of Haifa.
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It comes as Lebanon and Israel appear to be spiralling toward all-out war following months of escalating tensions.
The rocket barrage overnight set off air raid sirens across northern Israel, sending thousands of people scrambling into shelters.
The Israeli military said rockets had been fired toward civilian areas, pointing to a possible escalation after previous barrages had mainly been aimed at military targets.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the IDF said: “Hezbollah’s terrorism targets civilians.
“Hundreds of thousands of Israeli civilians spent their night hiding in bomb shelters, while barrages of rockets were flying over their heads, some hitting their homes, and rocket alert sirens were constantly sounding throughout the night.
“Thousands of children will stay in bomb shelters today instead of going to school due to the risk to their lives.
“We must stop this reality.”
Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said it treated four people for shrapnel wounds, including a 76-year-old man who was moderately wounded in Kiryat Bialik, a community near Haifa where buildings were damaged and cars set on fire.
It was not immediately clear if the damage was caused by a rocket or an Israeli interceptor.
The barrage came after an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Friday killed at least 37 people, including one of Hezbollah’s top leaders as well as women and children.
Hezbollah was already reeling from a sophisticated attack that caused thousands of personal devices to explode just days earlier.
The Israeli military said it carried out a wave of strikes across southern Lebanon over the past 24 hours, hitting some 400 militant sites, including rocket launchers.
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesman, said those strikes had thwarted an even larger attack.
Meanwhile, a 17-year-old was killed and a 20-year-old was injured in a self-inflicted crash, Haaretz reports.
It is understood the pair lost control of their vehicle when the air raid alarms were activated in the Jezreel Valley.