UPDATE - Hezbollah says it launched 1st drone, ballistic missile attack on Israeli Defense Ministry HQ in Tel Aviv

UPDATES WITH BALLISTIC MISSILE ATTACK ON ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTRY HEADQUARTERS; REVISES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE, DEATH TOLL IN LEBANON

By Wassim Seifeddine

BEIRUT (AA) - Hezbollah said Wednesday that it targeted the headquarters of the Israeli Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv with a squadron of drones and ballistic missiles in the first such attack since the outbreak of cross-border warfare between the two sides last year.

In a statement, the Lebanese group said that it fired a squadron of advanced precision-guided drones at the Kirya base in Tel Aviv, “hitting its targets accurately.”

Hezbollah said the Kirya base houses the Defense Ministry headquarters, the General Staff, the War Command Center, and the air force's control and surveillance authority.

Later in the evening, the group said in another statement that it launched another attack on Israel’s Kirya base using Qader 2 ballistic missiles, which successfully “hit their targets with precision.”

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli authorities on the attack.

Tension has escalated since Israel launched a massive air campaign on Lebanon since late September against what it claims are targets of Hezbollah in an escalation from year-long cross-border warfare between Israel and the Lebanese group since the start of Israel’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023.

More than 3,360 people have been killed, over 14,300 injured and more than 1 million people displaced by the Israeli attacks since last October, according to Lebanese health authorities.

Israel on Oct. 1 expanded the conflict by launching an incursion into southern Lebanon.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio