Hezbollah launched rockets at northern Israel on Thursday in retaliation for an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon earlier this week that killed a senior commander. This was Hezbollah's first attack since the Israeli airstrike killed their top commander, Fuad Shukr, on Tuesday evening. Their leader, Hassan Nasrallah, announced that operations would continue on Friday morning.

The Iran-backed group said it launched dozens of Katyusha rockets "in response to the Israeli enemy's attack on... (the southern village of Shama) that killed a number of civilians".

The Israeli military reported that its air force targeted the Hezbollah launcher used for the rockets shortly after the attack. The IDF stated that only five rockets from the barrage entered the country, and there have been no reports of any casualties.

Israel also blamed the Lebanese government for the Hezbollah attack.

“We will not allow anyone to terrorise the people of Israel,” it said in an X post.

Hours after Shukr's death, a strike in Tehran killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, an ally of Hezbollah. Iran and Hamas have accused Israel of carrying out the attack, but Israel has declined to comment.

On Thursday, Israel also confirmed that the head of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, was killed in an airstrike in Gaza in July.

In a virtual video speech to mourners gathered around Shukur’s coffin in a Beirut suburb, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah declared, "We have entered a new phase that is different from the previous period."

Referring to the Israelis, he said, “Do they expect that Hajj Ismail Haniyeh will be killed in Iran and Iran will remain silent?”

"Laugh a bit and you will cry a lot," he warned.

Image source: X