Hizbollah targets Tel Aviv with ballistic missile

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Israel intercepted a Hizbollah missile aimed at the Tel Aviv area on Wednesday morning, triggering air raid sirens in the coastal city from the Lebanese militant group’s first ballistic missile attack on the country.

Hizbollah said the Qader 1 ballistic missile, which was launched after Israel’s intense bombardment of Lebanon earlier this week, targeted the headquarters of Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, which is located on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

The Israeli military said on Wednesday it had not only intercepted the ballistic missile, but also claimed to have struck the launcher from which it was fired, located in the Nafakhiyeh area in Lebanon.  

Israel is bracing for a step up in Hizbollah fire after it launched heavy raids on the militant group’s strongholds in Lebanon on Monday, pummelling its weapons stores and killing senior commanders. Israeli war planes have since then hit more than 3,000 Hizbollah targets, the IDF said on Tuesday. 

Lebanese authorities have put the death toll at 564 from the bombardment, which also included a strike on a Hizbollah-controlled area of southern Beirut that killed the group’s missiles division chief Ibrahim Qobeissi. 

Israel has pledged to continue the military action until 60,000 citizens displaced from northern areas by months of cross-border fire can return home. Hizbollah has been directing volleys of rockets at northern Israel since shortly after October 7 in support of Hamas in Gaza. 

Hizbollah’s barrages have increased to some 100-200 rockets a day in response and the group has fired deeper into Israel than before. Most of its projectiles have so far been intercepted by Israel’s air defences, but the group is thought to have large stockpiles that have yet to be used.

The group said it used the ballistic missile against the command centre of the Israeli intelligence agency because it was “responsible for the assassination of leaders and exploding the pagers and walkie talkies”. It also revealed having used “Fadi” rockets in its attacks this week.

More than 3,000 people were injured and 37 were killed across Lebanon last week when Hizbollah’s communications devices suddenly detonated en masse. The group blamed Israel for the assault. Israel has not directly confirmed or denied the blasts.