TEL AVIV — Rockets fired from Lebanon killed two more people in northern Israel on Thursday, raising the Israeli military death toll to seven, the latest to hit Israel since Israeli forces invaded southern Lebanon earlier this month. Israeli doctors announced that it was the deadliest attack ever.
The attack came as senior U.S. diplomats were visiting the region to encourage ceasefires in Lebanon and Gaza, hoping to de-escalate wars in the Middle East during the final months of the Biden administration. .
Since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked from Gaza, Hezbollah has fired rockets, drones and missiles at Israel in retaliatory attacks. Hezbollah and Hamas are allies backed by Iran.
The conflict along the border escalated into an all-out war last month when Israel launched massive airstrikes across Lebanon, killing Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and most of his members. Israeli ground forces invaded Lebanon in early October.
Magen David Adom, Israel’s main emergency medical institution, announced that its doctors confirmed the deaths of a 30-year-old man and a 60-year-old woman on the outskirts of the northern city of Haifa. They also treated two other people who were hospitalized with minor injuries.
The Israeli military said around 25 rockets entered Israel from Lebanon as part of a volley that struck olive groves where people had gathered to harvest.
The deadly attack came after local officials in Metula, northern Israel, said a projectile fired from Lebanon hit an agricultural area, killing four foreign workers and an Israeli farmer. It happened a few hours later.
Metula, Israel’s northernmost town surrounded by Lebanon on three sides, was heavily damaged by rockets. The town’s residents were evacuated in October 2023, leaving only security officials and agricultural workers.
The Israeli military said around 25 rockets entered Israel from Lebanon as part of a volley that struck olive groves where people had gathered to harvest.
The deadly attack came after local officials in Metula, northern Israel, said a projectile fired from Lebanon hit an agricultural area, killing four foreign workers and an Israeli farmer. It happened a few hours later.
Metula, Israel’s northernmost town surrounded by Lebanon on three sides, suffered heavy damage from rocket attacks. The town’s residents were evacuated in October 2023, leaving only security officials and agricultural workers.
Refugee and Immigrant Hotline, an advocacy group for foreign workers, said authorities were putting foreign workers at risk by forcing them to work along the border without proper protection.
The agricultural areas along the Israeli border, where many of Israel’s orchards are located, are closed military areas that cannot be entered without official permission.
Sheikh Naim Qasem, Hezbollah’s new top leader, said in a video statement Wednesday that the militant group will continue fighting Israel until ceasefire terms are presented that Israel deems acceptable. He said Israel had bounced back from a series of setbacks in recent months, including widely condemned attacks using explosive pagers and walkie-talkies.
“Hezbollah’s capabilities are still available and can withstand a long war,” he said.
The Israeli military warned people early Thursday to evacuate more areas in southern Lebanon after eight people were killed in airstrikes across the country, Lebanese state news agency reported.
Israel warned its citizens to evacuate large areas of the country, including major cities in the south and east. Approximately 1.2 million people have been forced to evacuate since the situation escalated in September.
Thousands of people were evacuated from Baalbek, the main city in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley, and surrounding areas following an evacuation warning and airstrikes by Israel on Wednesday.
Jean Fakhri, a local government official in the Deir al-Ahmar region, about 17 kilometers southeast, said the main road had been “turned into a parking lot.” He said about 12,000 displaced people were staying in the area, most of them being accommodated in private homes.
Families with belongings were still arriving at one of the evacuation centers on Thursday.
“Our house was destroyed,” said Zahra Younis from a village near Baalbek. “We came without any clothes and took shelter here.”
More than 2,800 people have been killed and nearly 13,000 injured in Lebanon since the conflict began last year, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
At least 68 people have been killed in Israel by rockets, missiles and drones fired by Hezbollah, about half of them soldiers. More than 60,000 Israelis from towns and cities along the border have been evacuated from their homes for more than a year.
