Al-Qahira News Channel confirmed in a breaking news a short while ago that Hezbollah announced it had bombed 19 Israeli sites simultaneously.

Meanwhile, the Times of Israel newspaper reported that rockets from southern Lebanon fell on Israel today, Thursday, causing widespread damage in the northern city of Kiryat Shmona amid escalating skirmishes on the northern border. The Iran-backed militia originally deployed in Syria has started supporting Hezbollah.

Alarms sounded in the northern towns throughout the evening, with at least one shell falling on Kiryat Shmona, causing fires in shops and cars in the largely evacuated city.

The Hamas movement claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that it fired 12 rockets.

The Israeli army responded to the attack and previous assaults with several rounds of strikes on Hezbollah sites.

The escalation came after several days of relative calm on the northern border, which saw rising tensions amid attempts by Hezbollah and allied groups to pressure the Israeli army while it advanced in a ground offensive on the Gaza Strip. Iran-backed groups in Yemen also attempted to attack Israel from the south in recent days, and other allied militias targeted bases hosting American forces in Iraq and Syria.

Earlier, the caretaker Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati confirmed that Lebanon is committed to the choice of peace, considering that the decision of war is in Israel’s hands, denouncing the Israeli aggression on southern Lebanon and the resulting martyrs, victims, destruction of homes, burning of crops, displacement, and economic and financial damages that affect the nation. He considered all these matters as broad headlines entrusted to the international community silent on the truth – according to his expression.

Mikati added – at the beginning of today’s cabinet session – “Enough wars in Lebanon, we are for the choice of peace,” considering the daily Israeli crimes in the Gaza Strip a stain on the forehead of humanity and destruction of all values and principles on which international justice is based.

In the same context, the official spokesperson for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Andrea Tenenti, said that two shells fell and exploded yesterday 10 meters from a UNIFIL site near the town of Beit Leif in southern Lebanon, causing severe damage to a wall and minor damage to a UNIFIL vehicle. He explained that the soldiers were in shelters at the time and no one was harmed.

Tenenti explained – in a statement today – that UNIFIL again expresses its serious concern over the exposure of sites to shelling during the exchange of fire, which endangers peacekeepers and any civilians who might seek shelter there.

He condemned any use of areas close to UNIFIL sites to launch attacks across the Blue Line, and any targeting of areas near their sites for any reasons, reminding everyone that attacks on peacekeepers are crimes and violations of international law.

The UNIFIL spokesperson confirmed that despite this incident and previous ones, peacekeepers remain at their sites and carry out their duties, emphasizing that UNIFIL is actively working to calm tensions and restore stability along the Blue Line, and continues to urge everyone to cease fire and stop any acts that could endanger civilians or United Nations staff.