On October 13, 2024, the Israeli Defense Forces confirmed an overnight operation targeting approximately 200 Hezbollah positions across Lebanon. This action followed reports from the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health indicating at least 15 fatalities, with 11 deaths from two separate strikes in northern Beirut.
The Israeli military stated that the targets included terrorist cells, missile launchers, and arms depots, characterizing the operation as 'limited, localized, and specific.' However, the scale of the attacks has drawn significant concern as they resulted in civilian casualties.
Among the deceased, nine individuals were reported killed in an assault on the village of Maaysrah, while additional casualties occurred in Deir Billa, near Batroun, and in Barja, south of Beirut, where four people lost their lives and 18 were injured.
Hezbollah announced that its fighters engaged Israeli soldiers attempting to infiltrate a southern Lebanese village, resulting in unspecified casualties among the Israeli forces. Concurrently, the Israeli military intercepted five projectiles launched from Lebanon, coinciding with air raid sirens sounding in northern Israel, including Haifa.
This escalation follows a recent barrage from Hezbollah, which reportedly fired approximately 320 projectiles into Israel during Yom Kippur, prompting Israeli authorities to evacuate 22 communities in southern Lebanon and urging civilians to relocate north of the Awali River.