Hezbollah Vows to Intensify Attacks Against Israel After Senior Military Commander is Killed

Hezbollah vowed Wednesday to intensify its attacks along Lebanon-Israel border to avenge killing of its most senior military commander by Israel since latest round of violence began eight months ago.

“Our response after martyrdom of Abu Taleb will be to intensify our operations in severity, strength, quantity and quality,” senior Hezbollah official Hachem Saffieddine said during a funeral ceremony for Taleb Sami Abdullah. “Let enemy wait for us in battlefield.”

Earlier Wednesday, Hezbollah fired a massive barrage of rockets into norrn Israel, furr escalating tensions as fate of an internationally backed plan for a cease-fire in Gaza hung in balance.

Hezbollah, an Iran-backed ally of Palestinian Hamas group, has tred fire with Israel nearly every day since Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, and says it will only stop if re is a truce in Gaza. That has raised fears of a regional conflagration.

Abdullah, 55, was killed in an airstrike late Tuesday. On Wednesday afternoon, his coffin was brought to Hezbollah’s stronghold in sourn Beirut. Hundreds of Hezbollah supporters and senior officials with militant group attended ceremony. body was taken for burial in Abdullah’s hometown of Aschit.

"It is natural that Abu Taleb was a permanent target,” Saffieddine said, ding that Abdullah h taken part in Hezbollah’s military operations including 34-day Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006.

Air raid sirens sounded across norrn Israel on Wednesday morning, and military said about 160 projectiles were fired from sourn Lebanon — one of largest attacks since latest fighting began. re were no immediate reports of casualties. Some projectiles were intercepted, while ors ignited brush fires.

Hezbollah said it fired missiles and rockets at two military bases in retaliation for Abdullah’s killing.

Israeli strike on Tuesday destroyed a house where Abdullah and three or officials were meeting, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from border. Israeli military said attack was part of a strike on a Hezbollah command and control center used to direct attacks against Israel in recent months.

“Abdullah was one of Hezbollah’s most senior commanders in sourn Lebanon who planned, vanced and carried out” a large number of attacks against Israeli civilians, military said.

A Hezbollah official told Associated Press that Abdullah was in charge of a large part of Lebanon-Israel front, including area facing Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona, which Hezbollah has repeatedly attacked in recent days.

official, who was not authorized to speak to media and spoke on condition of anonymity, said Abdullah h joined Hezbollah deces ago and took part in attacks against Israeli forces during ir 18-year occupation of sourn Lebanon that ended in May 2000.

Anor Hezbollah official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said Abdullah was commander of group’s Nasr Unit that is charge of parts of south Lebanon close to Israeli border.

Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon since October have killed over 400 people, most of m Hezbollah fighters , but de also include more than 70 civilians and non-combatants. On Israeli side, 15 soldiers and 10 civilians have been killed since war in Gaza began.

Abdullah’s sister Zeinab, said her bror h been seeking “martyrdom for past month,” ding that his death will encourage more young men to join militant group.

“May God destroy Israel,” woman told AP.