Hezbollah says it launched missile strike on Israeli military base near Tel Aviv

By Nour Abuaisha

BEIRUT (AA) - Hezbollah said Tuesday that it launched a missile strike on an Israeli military airbase near Tel Aviv using a salvo of Fadi 4 rockets.

The Lebanese resistance group said it fired “a salvo of Fadi 4 rockets at the Sde Dov airbase on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.”

The Fadi rockets, which Hezbollah began using this week for the first time since Sept. 22, are ground-to-ground missiles designed to cover large areas rather than specific points.

The Fadi 1 missile has a range of 80 kilometers (50 miles), while the Fadi 2 extends to 105 kilometers.

The range of the Fadi 3 and Fadi 4 models has not been disclosed, but speculation suggests they are more advanced and have a longer range.

Hezbollah also said it launched a barrage of rockets that targeted Israeli forces gathered east of the Rosh HaNikra coastal site in northern Israel.

The Israeli army reported that “a number of projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon which fell in open areas in central Israel.”

Israeli Army Radio confirmed that rockets recently fell in open areas in Netanya, located in the Hod Hasharon district that is part of the greater Tel Aviv area.

The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported that explosions were heard in parts of the district, although further details were not provided.

Israel’s Home Front Command said sirens sounded across the lower and central Galilee, warning of rocket fire.

Three Israelis were injured, one with “moderate to serious” wounds, following a rocket attack earlier Tuesday that targeted the greater Tel Aviv area, according to the Israeli military, that said sirens were heard across central Israel, including Tel Aviv.

The Israeli army said earlier that it launched “limited and targeted” ground operations in southern Lebanon.

Observers believe the announcement of starting a ground offensive was part of “psychological and media warfare.”

Israel has launched massive airstrikes since Sept. 23 against what it calls Hezbollah targets across Lebanon that have killed more than 1,057 victims and injured over 2,950, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Several Hezbollah commanders have been killed in the strikes, including leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Israel's onslaught against the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 41,600 victims, most of them women and children, following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, last October.

The international community has warned that Israeli attacks in Lebanon could escalate the Gaza conflict into a wider regional war.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio