Ongoing Hezbollah Attacks Have Killed 22 Israelis Since October 7

Latest Developments

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for an attack that killed two Israeli soldiers on May 6. The deaths bring to 22 the number of Israelis killed in assaults launched by the Lebanon-based terrorist organization since the Hamas massacre of October 7. Hezbollah said it launched a kamikaze drone and dozens of rockets toward Israel Defense Forces (IDF) positions near the northern Israeli town of Metula. Hezbollah’s attack also lightly wounded one Israeli soldier. In response, the Israeli Air Force struck 15 of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force targets in Al-Lwazia in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, has carried out thousands of attacks on Israel using rockets, anti-tank missiles, and drones since the Hamas atrocities. In total, Hezbollah strikes have killed 13 IDF personnel and nine civilians. More than 80,000 residents of northern Israel remain displaced from their homes due to the ongoing threat posed by Hezbollah.

Expert Analysis

“Hezbollah may not be deliberately aiming to kill Israelis with every strike launched into northern Israel. Instead, the terrorist group seeks to bleed the Israelis through constant harassment without crossing the threshold granting them international legitimacy to make Hezbollah pay a proportionate price. But Hezbollah’s calculus should be immaterial. The scale and effects of its attacks — killing 22 Israelis, displacing tens of thousands, wreaking havoc on northern Israel’s social fabric, economy, and infrastructure — provide Israel with sufficient legal justification to keep striking at the group, certainly at current levels, but also to expand operations. It should do so.” — David Daoud, FDD Senior Fellow

“Hezbollah continues to terrorize northern Israel using rockets, anti-tank missiles, and drones. The Iranian-backed terrorist group has forced 80,000 Israelis to be evacuated from their homes since it began attacking Israel to support the war that Hamas launched on October 7. Hezbollah must be deterred, and Israel should be supported in its demand that Hezbollah terrorists be removed from the border area.” — Seth J. Frantzman, FDD Adjunct Fellow

Hezbollah Launches Missile Barrage Toward Golan Heights

Hezbollah also claimed responsibility on May 6 for “dozens of Katyusha rockets” launched from Lebanon toward an Israeli military base in the Golan Heights. No injuries resulted. The rocket barrage was in retaliation for an overnight Israeli airstrike between May 5 and May 6 in the Baalbek region in Lebanon, Hezbollah said. The IDF returned artillery fire against the Hezbollah launch sites.

Related Analysis

“Hezbollah Rocket Fire Targets Israel’s Kiryat Shmona,” FDD Flash Brief

“Hezbollah Targets Israeli Forces on Northern Border,” FDD Flash Brief

“Understanding Israel-Hezbollah Clashes Since October 7,” by Ahmad Sharawi