BEIRUT: Hezbollah attacked Israeli towns, settlements and military posts on Saturday, some of them for the first time since hostilities broke out more than a decade ago.

The attacks were a response to the killing of Hezbollah members by the Israeli army the day before, in which several children were also killed.

Hezbollah’s first operations were against the largest residential area in northern Israel, Kiryat Ata, north of Haifa, making the city the target of attacks for the first time since hostilities broke out on October 8.

Israeli television Channel 12 reported that interceptor missiles had been fired over Kiryat Ata, while the Israeli army said it had intercepted a “suspicious aerial target” fired at the city from Lebanon.

Explosions were heard in Tamra and I’billin, east of Haifa in the Lower Galilee, while sirens warned of an incoming rocket.

“This is the first time that Hezbollah has bombed the largest residential settlement in the north – known as Krayot in the Zevulun Valley in the Haifa Bay area – with Kiryat Ata as the city’s most populous town,” Israeli media reported.

No casualties were reported in the attack.

Hezbollah said on Saturday afternoon that it had attacked Israeli soldiers at the Hermon base with an attack drone and later said it had also destroyed surveillance equipment at the Al-Raheb base with a drone attack.

Hezbollah subsequently announced the death of its member Ibrahim Hassan Fadel (21) from Tulin in southern Lebanon, who “succumbed to his injuries”.

Hezbollah also attacked Israeli soldiers near the Misgav Am outpost.

According to them, the group “carried out an airstrike using attack drones on the headquarters of the newly formed Western Brigade south of the Yaara settlement, targeting the positions of its officers and soldiers.”

Sirens sounded in the settlement of Kfar Yuval and in the Galilee panhandle.

The Israeli army radio station said that “several rockets fired from Lebanon at an army position in Shtula in the western Galilee exploded without causing any casualties.”

Eight Hezbollah members were killed on Friday after being tracked by Israeli military drones while traveling on motorcycles or in vehicles in border areas.

Israeli journalist Eddie Cohen wrote on his social media account that Israel intended to “prevent Hezbollah members from moving or traveling by vehicle within 20 kilometers of the Israeli border, and that our aircraft will attack any terrorist who disregards this order.”

The outskirts of Aitaroun and Maroun Al-Ras in Lebanon’s Bint Jbeil district were sporadically shelled by Israeli forces.

Sheikh Mohammed Yazbek, head of Hezbollah’s religious committee, said Israel was still operating “within the established rules of engagement.”

However, he said the group would respond accordingly if Israel allowed the conflict to escalate.

“If they seek a full-scale war, we are prepared for it.”

Yazbek said: “Since the July war until today, we have been preparing for an impending confrontation with the enemy and making sure that we are not unprepared.”

He said: “The support front in southern Lebanon will not end until the aggression and war against our people in the Gaza Strip ends. After that, we will address each situation as it arises.”

“No matter how hard Netanyahu tries to portray himself as strong and supported by America and the West, such efforts will be in vain.”

Yazbek said: “The front in southern Lebanon is to support our people in the Gaza Strip, to fight the enemy and also to protect Lebanon.”

He added: “Israel, the United States and their warships, aircraft carriers and destroyers do not intimidate us because we are convinced that we are right.”

Referring to the killing of Hezbollah military leader Fuad Shukr late last month, he said “revenge was inevitable.”

He added: “However, we will determine the appropriate time. We will honor the blood of our martyrs and remember our prisoners.”

Yazbek also said: “The measures taken by Israel in the form of assassinations will not deter the resistance; on the contrary, they will strengthen its resolve.

“For over 40 years, America has sought revenge against Fuad Shukr for causing them suffering, just as he caused Israel suffering.”