Israel warns of severe response to strikes from Lebanon after vowing to
intensify operations in Gaza
[March 22, 2025]
By BASSEM MROUE and SAM MEDNICK
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — Israel said it would respond “severely” to an
attack from Lebanon after rockets were fired into northern Israel
Saturday morning, a day after it vowed to increase the intensity of its
operations in Gaza.
Israel's army said the intercepted rockets were targeting the Israeli
town of Metula. This is the second time rockets have been fired from
Lebanon into Israel since December, sparking concern about whether the
fragile ceasefire with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah would hold.
Hezbollah began launching rockets, drones and missiles into Israel the
day after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of Gaza ignited the war there.
The Israel-Hezbollah conflict boiled over into an all-out war in
September as Israel carried out massive waves of airstrikes and killed
most of the militant group’s senior leaders. The fighting killed more
than 4,000 people in Lebanon and displaced about 60,000 Israelis.
Under the ceasefire reached in November, Israeli forces were supposed to
withdraw from all Lebanese territory by late January. The deadline was
then extended to Feb. 18 by agreement between Lebanon and Israel.
But since then, Israel’s remained in five locations in Lebanon located
across from communities in northern Israel and has carried out dozens of
airstrikes on southern and eastern Lebanon, saying it attacked Hezbollah
targets. Lebanon has appealed to the U.N. to pressure Israel to fully
withdraw from the country.
On Saturday, Defense Minister, Israel Katz, said the country will not
allow Lebanon to fire into Israeli communities. “We promised security to
the Galilee communities and that is exactly what will happen,” he said.
There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah.
In a statement, Lebanon's Prime Minister, Nawaf Salam, asked the
Lebanese military to take all necessary measures in the south, but said
the country did not want to return to war.
The strikes come a day after Israel said it would carry out operations
in Gaza “with increasing intensity” until Hamas frees the 59 hostages it
holds — 24 of whom are believed alive.
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Displaced Palestinians, carrying their belongings and other items,
move between southern and northern Gaza along a beach road away from
the areas where the Israeli army is operating after Israel's renewed
offensive in the Gaza Strip, in the outskirts of Gaza City, Friday
March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Israel's military said Friday its forces were planning fresh assaults
into three neighborhoods west of Gaza City and issued warnings on social
media for Palestinians to evacuate the areas.
Also on Friday, Israel blew up the only specialized cancer hospital in
the war-torn territory. The Israeli military said it struck the
Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, accusing Hamas militants of
operating on-site. Turkey, which helped build and fund the hospital,
said Israeli troops at one point used it as a base.
Around 600 Palestinians have been killed since Israel relaunched the war
earlier this week. Israel had already cut off the supply of food, fuel,
and humanitarian aid to Gaza’s roughly 2 million Palestinians, aiming to
pressure Hamas over ceasefire negotiations.
The international community has condemned the resumed attacks. In a
statement Friday, the foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, France
and Germany called Israel's strikes in Gaza a dramatic step backward.
“We are appalled by the civilian casualties and urgently call for an
immediate return to a ceasefire," they said in a joint statement.
The attack by Hamas-led militants in 2023, killed some 1,200 people and
took 251 hostages. Most of the hostages have been freed in ceasefire
agreements or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight living
hostages and recovered the bodies of dozens more.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 49,000 Palestinians,
according to the Gaza Health Ministry. It does not say how many were
militants but says more than half of those killed were women and
children. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without
providing evidence.
___
Mednick reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press reporter
Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin contributed to this report.
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