Israel's Haifa Hit By One Of Largest Hezbollah Rocket Barrages Of War

On Monday the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that at least 90 Hezbollah rockets were fired on the major port city of Haifa in a massive barrage.

A first large wave of 80 rockets was inbound, and the IDF says it intercepted most, and this was followed by a smaller second barrage of ten missiles. This set off sirens across the whole Haifa area. "Damage was caused to homes and cars in Kiryat Ata, and a teenager was slightly hurt by glass shards," Times of Israel reports of the attack.

"It marks one of the largest rocket attacks on the port city amid the fighting with Hezbollah," the report continues. The prior single day's record was as follows: "On October 8, 2024, Hezbollah launched over 100 rockets at Haifa in two barrages."

Elsewhere in northern Israel some 50 rockets were launched from Lebanon towards the upper and western Galilee areas, and many of these were also intercepted, with others falling in open areas.

These missile attacks are ramping up in quantity and intensity even as Biden's regional envoy Amos Hochstein works to achieve a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah:

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said any agreement would have to include enforcement mechanisms to prevent Hezbollah from reconstituting its military infrastructure near the border.

"There is certain progress on the issue. We are working with the Americans," he told reporters.

But Hezbollah is unlikely to agree to anything seen as pushing back Lebanese sovereign territory, even if a buffer zone is patrolled by an international peacekeeping force.

The Israeli army is meanwhile continuing to issue forced evacuation orders for parts of southern Lebanon. It is calling on the civilian population to move north of the Awali River.

The order was addressed to the towns of Sheheen, al-Jebbayn, Tayr Harfa, Abu Shash, Beit Shama, Majdal Zoun, al-Mansouri, Zebqin, Rashidieh, Barghliyeh, Qasmiyeh, al-Bayyaada, Naqoura, Bint Jbeil, Ainata, Kounine, Aitaroun, Taybeh, Rab Thalathin, Markaba, and Bani Hayyan.

The Lebanese government and humanitarian groups have complained that these tactics amount to a forced military cleansing of territory - given that anyone remaining is then deemed an armed militant and can be killed.

But in northern Israel, some 80,000 Israeli residents have remained forcibly evacuated from their homes for over a year, due to the constant threat of Hezbollah rockets and drones.

In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly acknowledged for the first time that he had personally approved the series of pager attacks that killed and wounded dozens of Hezbollah operatives in September. This marks the first official confirmation that Hezbollah was behind the attacks.

It is believed that Israeli intelligence Mossad years ago covertly intercepted shipments of communications devices bound for Hezbollah, and rigged them with explosives, and then waited to send a signal that would detonate them.