Seven civilians were killed after Hezbollah rockets struck northern Israel amid escalating violence near the border towns of Metula and Haifa. This marked one of the deadliest days for Israeli civilians in recent months, according to The Times of Israel.

Tragedy first struck on Thursday morning near Metula, where a rocket launched from Lebanon hit an apple orchard, killing five people who had been working in the fields, authorities reported. Later, two more individuals lost their lives in an olive grove outside Kiryat Ata, a suburb of Haifa, when Hezbollah unleashed a volley of rockets into the area, according to the report.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed Hezbollah’s attacks and issued a statement on X, “Hezbollah rockets killed 7 innocent civilians inside Israel today. We will not let Hezbollah’s deadly attacks go unanswered.” The victims were all agricultural workers, with one being an Israeli citizen and the others foreign nationals.

In response to the attacks, Israel conducted airstrikes targeting Hezbollah assets in Syria, including weapons storage facilities and command centers used by Hezbollah’s Radwan Forces and its Munitions Unit. “A short while ago, following IDF intelligence, the IAF (Israeli Air Force) struck weapons storage facilities and command centres used by Hezbollah’s Radwan Forces and its Munitions Unit in the area of Al-Qusayr, Syria,” the IDF shared on X.

According to the IDF, Hezbollah’s Munitions Unit, tasked with storing weapons in Lebanon, has expanded its operations into Al-Qusayr, near the Syrian-Lebanese border. “With this, Hezbollah is establishing logistical infrastructure to facilitate the transfer of weapons from Syria into Lebanon via border crossings,” the IDF stated.

The strikes also targeted Hezbollah’s Unit 4400, the division responsible for transporting weapons from Iran through Syria and into Lebanon. “The strike on the weapons storage facilities is part of a larger effort targeting the infrastructure of Unit 4400, the Hezbollah unit responsible for smuggling weapons from Iran, through Syria, and into Lebanon. This includes recent strikes on several border crossings between Syria and Lebanon used by Hezbollah for weapons smuggling,” the IDF further explained.