The Israeli military on Wednesday said that it was the “first time ever” that a missile fired by Hezbollah reached the Tel Aviv area before being intercepted by air defenses.
This marks the first instance in which the group has claimed to conduct a ballistic missile strike since its nearly year-long conflict with Israel began following Hamas’s attack on October 7.
“The Islamic Resistance launched a ‘Qader 1’ ballistic missile at 6:30 am (0330 GMT) on Wednesday, 25-9-2024, targeting the Mossad headquarters in the outskirts of Tel Aviv,” Hezbollah said in a statement.
“This headquarters is responsible for the assassination of leaders and the explosion of pagers and wireless devices,” it added, referring to attacks last week that killed scores in Lebanon including a top commander.
It also said the strike was carried out in support of the people of Gaza and “in defence of Lebanon and its people”.
Hezbollah said it had fired a ballistic missile targeting Israeli spy agency Mossad’s headquarters near Tel Aviv, saying that recent attacks on the militant group had been planned there.
Military analyst Riad Kahwaji said it was the first time Hezbollah had fired ballistic missiles at Israel, adding that they were “Iranian-produced”.
“They’re all variants of the Scuds,” he said, adding that the missiles have a range of “not more than 300 kilometres (190 miles)”.
Longtime adversaries Hezbollah and Israel have engaged in near-daily cross-border exchanges of fire since Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7.
This attack by Hamas ignited a war in Gaza that has involved Hezbollah and other Iran-backed militants from across the Middle East.
In recent days, Israel’s military focus has shifted significantly from Gaza to Lebanon.
Early Wednesday, a Lebanese security source reported that an Israeli strike targeted the Saadiyat area near Beirut.
An AFP photographer at the strike location noted that a garage was hit, and a nearby warehouse for electric appliances was also damaged.
The Lebanese health ministry reported that Israeli strikes resulted in at least 558 fatalities on Monday, marking the deadliest day of violence in the country since its civil war from 1975 to 1990.