Tel Aviv/Beirut, March 11, (dpa/GNA) – The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, announced the start of a new military campaign named “Eaten Straw” in response to Israeli attacks.
Shortly after the announcement on Wednesday evening, Hezbollah launched a large barrage of missiles toward Israeli targets.
Israeli media reported that more than 100 rockets were fired toward northern Israel, marking one of the largest rocket attacks in the latest escalation. Israel’s emergency service Magen David Adom said, a woman and a man were lightly injured. Air raid sirens sounded repeatedly for hours in the north of the country.
The name of the Hezbollah operation references Surah Al-Fil (“The Elephant”) in the Koran. The chapter recounts the destruction of an invading army that attempted to destroy the Kaaba holy site in Mecca. According to the narrative, divine intervention defeated the army, leaving it “like eaten straw.”
Shortly after the rocket barrage, Israeli jets were heard flying over the Lebanese capital, Beirut, carrying out at least six simultaneous airstrikes. The explosions sent shockwaves across the city, with residents reporting that the blasts rattled windows and buildings in several neighbourhoods.
Israel’s military had earlier said it had launched a “large-scale wave of attacks” on positions of the Hezbollah militia in the southern Dahiyeh suburbs of the Lebanese capital. The army had previously called on residents there to evacuate. There were initially no reports of casualties.
Earlier, authorities said at least 64 people were killed and 142 wounded in Israeli strikes on Beirut and other parts of Lebanon on Wednesday. Israeli attacks hit central Beirut, killing at least four people, as fears of an Israeli ground offensive in Lebanon grow.
Lebanese media showed several destroyed floors of a residential building in the capital. The Health Ministry said that four other people were injured in the attack.
Meanwhile, heavy strikes hit various areas in southern and eastern Lebanon, causing casualties and extensive material damage.
According to the Health Ministry, the overall death toll since the violence began last week has reached 634 killed and 1,586 wounded.
The Israeli military said in a statement that it had launched strikes in the Dahiyeh suburbs, targeting command centres and weapons depots of the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia.
The densely populated southern suburbs of Beirut are considered a stronghold of Hezbollah, and the Israeli military has been regularly striking targets of the Iran-backed Shiite militia in the area.
The Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) said, attacks also continued in the south of the country and in the eastern Bekaa Valley, where officials said at least 14 people were killed and 29 others injured.
Hezbollah said it had repeatedly attacked Israeli troops in southern Lebanon with rockets on Tuesday evening and throughout the night.
Troops transfer from the Gaza Strip to the Lebanese border
As the cross-border attacks continued, Israeli military Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir ordered the transfer of troops from the Gaza Strip to the border with Lebanon.
The Golani Brigade, which has been deployed repeatedly in the Gaza Strip since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict two and a half years ago, is to be moved north to reinforce Israel’s Northern Command.
Hezbollah launched targeted attacks on Israel about a week ago, in support of Tehran amid the joint US-Israeli offensive in Iran.
The attacks were the militia’s first since a ceasefire agreement with Israel came into force in November 2024.
Despite the ceasefire, Israel has continued to attack Hezbollah targets, arguing that the group was not complying with the deal’s terms and was attempting to rearm. Hezbollah, in turn, has accused Israel of violating the ceasefire.
GNA