Hezbollah Fires New Barrage at Israel, Which Vows to Hit Back

Hezbollah members take part in a military exercise during a media tour organized for the occasion of Resistance and Liberation Day, in Aaramta, Lebanon, May 21, 2023. (Reuters)
Hezbollah members take part in a military exercise during a media tour organized for the occasion of Resistance and Liberation Day, in Aaramta, Lebanon, May 21, 2023. (Reuters)
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Hezbollah Fires New Barrage at Israel, Which Vows to Hit Back

Hezbollah members take part in a military exercise during a media tour organized for the occasion of Resistance and Liberation Day, in Aaramta, Lebanon, May 21, 2023. (Reuters)
Hezbollah members take part in a military exercise during a media tour organized for the occasion of Resistance and Liberation Day, in Aaramta, Lebanon, May 21, 2023. (Reuters)

Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group said it fired a new wave of rockets and drones at the Israeli army on Thursday, after an Israeli strike killed one of its senior commanders, AFP reported.
It was Hezbollah’s largest simultaneous attack in near-daily cross-border fire between it and the Israeli army since its ally Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war.
Hezbollah fighters launched “an attack with rockets and drones, targeting six barracks and military sites” while simultaneously flying “squadrons of explosive-laden drones” at three other Israeli bases, the group said in a statement.
One of the targets included an Israeli base that Hezbollah said housed an intelligence headquarters “responsible for the assassinations.”
Hezbollah said the attacks were “part of the response to the assassination” of Hezbollah commander Taleb Abdallah on Tuesday.
The Israeli army said about “40 projectiles were launched toward the Galilee and Golan Heights area,” adding most were intercepted while others ignited fires.
The Israeli government vowed to respond strongly to all Hezbollah attacks.
“Israel will respond with force to all aggressions by Hezbollah,” government spokesman David Mencer said during a press briefing.
“Whether through diplomatic efforts or otherwise, Israel will restore security on our northern border,” he added.
In recent weeks, cross-border exchanges have escalated, with Hezbollah stepping up its use of drones to attack Israeli military positions and Israel hitting back with targeted strikes against the militants.
On Wednesday, top Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine vowed the group would “increase the intensity, strength, quantity and quality of our attacks,” while speaking at Abdallah’s funeral.
The Israeli army confirmed it carried out the strike that “eliminated” Abdallah on Tuesday, describing him as “one of Hezbollah’s most senior commanders in southern Lebanon.”
A Lebanese military source said he was the “most important” Hezbollah commander to have been killed since the start of the war.
The cross-border violence has killed at least 468 people in Lebanon, most of them fighters but also including 89 civilians, according to an AFP tally.
Israeli authorities say at least 15 Israeli soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed.



Pope Speaks Against Forced Mass Displacement of Gaza Civilians

Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, July 20, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, July 20, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
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Pope Speaks Against Forced Mass Displacement of Gaza Civilians

Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, July 20, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, July 20, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi

Pope Leo, whose role in advocating for peace in Gaza has become notably stark since Israel struck the territory's only Catholic church last week, told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday that he opposed any forced displacement of Palestinians.

The Vatican said Abbas, who leads the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority, had phoned the pope on Monday, three days after Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called and expressed regret over the strike on Gaza's Holy Family church.

Israel has said the strike, which killed three people and wounded the church's parish priest, was a mistake, Reuters reported.

The small church in Gaza has been a focus of papal advocacy for peace throughout the war in the territory. Pope Leo's predecessor Pope Francis spoke to the parish nightly.

In Monday's conversation with Abbas, Leo condemned the "indiscriminate use of force" and any "forced mass displacement" of people in the Gaza Strip, the Vatican said.

Israel has said it wants Gazans to move to a special humanitarian zone in Gaza or leave the territory voluntarily. All mainstream Palestinian groups and neighbouring Arab states have rejected any plan that would displace them.

In emotional remarks on Sunday after his weekly Angelus prayer, Leo read out the names of those killed at the church in Gaza and called for an end to the "barbarity of war".