Israel has conducted airstrikes on more than 50 Hezbollah targets in Syria and 3,400 in Lebanon since the onset of the Gaza war, which sparked a regional offensive by Iran's proxies in allegiance with Hamas.
“Since the beginning of the war, we have attacked, from the ground and air, more than 50 such targets of Hezbollah spread throughout Syria,” Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari told reporters.
Since the Gaza war began on October 7, after Iran-backed Hamas invaded Israel, killing 1,200 mostly civilians and taking more than 250 hostages, the worst tensions between Iran's biggest proxy Hezbollah and Israeli forces on its northern border have reached crisis point.
The toll from the clashes includes at least 218 deaths in Lebanon, primarily Hezbollah militants, and at least 26 civilians. In northern Israel, the conflict has claimed the lives of nine Israeli soldiers and six civilians since it commenced, with around 200,000 people displaced on both sides, fearing wider escalation.
In response to Hamas's attack on October 7, the single most deadly day for Jews since the Holocaust, Israel launched a relentless offensive involving airstrikes, ground operations, and naval bombardments. Hamas claims Israel has killed at least 27,238 people, predominantly women and children.
Proxies in Syria, Iraq and Yemen have also joined the war in support of Hamas, attacking both US and Israeli targets in the region, in addition to a blockade of the Red Sea, affecting global shipping.
