Hezbollah Keeps Threat to North Alive in Latest Rocket Barrage Against Israel

Latest Developments 

The Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah on September 4 launched its heaviest barrage of rockets against Israel in the past 10 days. Hezbollah fired more than 65 rockets at targets in northern Israel, sparking fires and causing severe damage to at least one home, but no injuries were reported. According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), “some rockets were also intercepted and others hit open areas. Hezbollah takes responsibility for the barrage, claiming to have targeted Israeli military positions,” The Times of Israel reported. The Jerusalem Post, meanwhile, observed that “compared to the average of less than 20 rocket sirens per day over the last week, the Lebanese terror group … re-upped its threat level against Israel.” Several of the rockets impacted the northern city of Kiryat Shmona. Eliezer Peretz, whose home in the city sustained a direct hit, said that the latest onslaught reminded him of his childhood when his parents’ house had been struck by a rocket fired from Lebanon. “I grew up in this reality,” Peretz told The Times of Israel. Peretz and his family are among the tens of thousands of Israelis evacuated from their homes in the north in the wake of Hezbollah’s decision to support Hamas following the October 7 atrocities. More than 8,000 rockets have been fired from Lebanon at Israel during the last 11 months.  

Expert Analysis 

“Hezbollah has often escalated its attacks in order to support Hamas in Gaza as well as terrorist groups in the West Bank. This is a crucial element of the larger Iranian strategy to try to ring Israel with threats as Israel battles on multiple fronts.” — Seth J. Frantzman, FDD Adjunct Fellow 

“Jerusalem’s superior intelligence and weapons capabilities have allowed Israel to dominate Hezbollah in this low-simmering war. But the Iranian proxy has shut down Israel’s north, effectively shifting the Jewish state’s border southward. Israel cannot tolerate another academic year with students from the north dislocated from their homes, schools, and friends.” — David May, FDD Research Manager and Senior Research Analyst 

Iran Proxy in Iraq Claims Attempted Drone Strike 

Hezbollah’s latest escalation — notably less intense compared to the almost 1,000 rockets fired at Israel on August 25 — coincided with claims from other Iranian proxies to have launched attacks against Israel. According to the state-run Iranian news agency IRNA, the Tehran-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq launched a drone that the IDF said it had downed. According to IRNA, the “Islamic resistance in Iraq has stressed that it continues to target the enemy as the resistance groups have already warned the occupying regime that they will heighten anti-Israel operations if the regime does not halt aggression.” The IDF also responded on September 4, striking rocket launchers in Kounine and Qabrikha in southern Lebanon that had been used for previous attacks on Israel.  

Related Analysis 

“Hezbollah Launches Fifty Rockets at Israel, Striking Town in Golan,” FDD Flash Brief 

“Hezbollah Unveils Vast Underground Missile Complex,” FDD Flash Brief 

“IDF Officer Killed in Hezbollah Drone Attack on Northern Israel,” FDD Flash Brief