Israel intercepts Hezbollah ballistic missile near Tel Aviv in first attack of its kind

Israel intercepted a rocket fired by Hezbollah near Tel Aviv on Wednesday, an unprecedented attack by the militant group that penetrated deep into the country's commercial heartlands and marked a new escalation in the conflict between the two sides.

People in Tel Aviv and the central city of Netanya were awakened by the sound of sirens on Wednesday as Israel announced that its air defenses had intercepted a surface-to-surface missile. This was the first time ever that a Hezbollah-fired missile had come close to the city, the Israeli military said.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah confirmed that it had fired a Qadr 1 ballistic missile at the headquarters of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, which it blames for attacks on its members, including the coordinated explosion of thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies last week.

It is believed to be the first ballistic missile fired by Hezbollah towards Israel. The missile was launched “in support of our steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip” and in “defense of Lebanon and its people,” Hezbollah said.

The Israeli military said the missile was intercepted near Tel Aviv, a city of four million on the Mediterranean coast, and that the air force hit the launch pad in the Nafakhiyeh area of ​​southern Lebanon.

“After sirens sounded in the areas around Tel Aviv and Netanya, a surface-to-surface missile coming from Lebanon was identified and intercepted by the Israel Defense Forces' air defense system,” the Israeli military said.

Israeli military spokesman Nadav Shoshani described the missile as “heavy” and “long-range.”

“This is the first time Hezbollah has fired towards Tel Aviv,” he said.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has repeatedly stated that any Israeli attack on the Lebanese capital would result in an attack on Israel's economic center.

Since the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas broke out last October, Lebanon-based Hezbollah has fired hundreds of rockets and drones into northern Israel.

Due to the cross-border fighting, around 60,000 people have been evacuated from northern Israel. Israel has said the fighting will continue until it is safe for residents to return to their homes.

The missile interception came days after Israeli attacks on Hezbollah killed more than 500 people across Lebanon, including dozens of children. Monday was Lebanon's deadliest day in nearly two decades.

Flight traffic at Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport continued as usual on Wednesday, an airport spokesman said.

According to Israeli authorities, sirens were heard in Netanya on Wednesday for the first time since October 7, 2023.

Misery in Lebanon

In recent days, Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged waves of air and missile attacks, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes in southern Lebanon.

Israel has said it is targeting Hezbollah positions and infrastructure it says are located in residential areas. One attack on Tuesday killed a senior commander, Ibrahim Qubaisi. The Israeli military said Qubaisi commanded several Hezbollah rocket units and was killed along with two other commanders in southern Beirut.

Residents who fled their homes in Lebanon reported that neighborhoods had been razed and entire towns evacuated. One man told CNN he witnessed “continuous bombardment from all directions,” which he described as “indiscriminate bombardment.”

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned that many children were still “missing under rubble” or “stuck on dangerous roads” following the Israeli air strikes.

At least 558 people were killed in Israeli air strikes on Monday, including 50 children and 94 women, Lebanon's Health Minister Firass Abiad said. More children were killed in the country in one day on Monday than in the whole of last year, Ettie Higgins, UNICEF's deputy representative for Lebanon, said in a UN briefing.

Meanwhile, Lebanese hospitals are struggling to cope with the influx of injured people. It is difficult to get those in need to hospital for treatment as the streets are clogged with people trying to flee Israeli attacks. British-Palestinian doctor Ghassan Abu-Sittah said the health system was “very, very fragile” as it could not cope with treating more than 2,000 injured people in two days.

“We have unfortunately received children with the same pattern of injuries that I saw in Gaza,” Abu-Sittah told CNN. “Blast injuries to the face, amputations of limbs, numerous shrapnel injuries, crush injuries from houses being destroyed above them.”

An estimated half a million people have been displaced in Lebanon, the country's foreign minister said on Tuesday, and that number is expected to rise.

Om Hussein's family was among thousands who fled the south of the country. They spent 14 hours travelling to Beirut, stuck in congested roads and saying they had no time to get clothes or medicine. “We had no food or water, but volunteers on motorbikes distributed water to those stranded in their cars,” she told CNN.

On Wednesday, the Israeli military warned displaced residents of southern Lebanon not to return to their homes and announced it would accelerate its “offensive operations” against Hezbollah without interruption.

Israeli troops conducted exercises simulating ground fighting in Lebanon, which the military did not rule out.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

CNN's Mick Krever, Tamara Qiblawi, Sarah El Sirgany, Lucas Lillieholm and Kathleen Magramo contributed reporting.

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