Air Force Carries out Third Wave of Strikes, Multiple Fires in the North

The Israeli Air Force announced in the early afternoon of Tuesday that it had carried out three waves of airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, destroying dozens of rocket launchers and thousands of rockets. One Israeli official said that up to half of the precision-guided missiles in Hezbollah's arsenal are believed to have been destroyed already.

Hezbollah's rocket attacks into northern Israel have also caused extensive damage, including multiple fires which have erupted in locations all over northern Israel. Crews were busy fighting those fires and traffic has been closed on Highway 70 to traffic at the Kabul intersection near Tamra following the fall of shrapnel from intercepted rockets.

Scattered reports indicated that at least six Israeli civilians were injured during the day, including some who were hurt when they fell on their way to a protected area.

According to Army Radio, six firefighting teams were directed to Kiryat Shmona to fight a large fire in the warehouse district. Fires damaged buildings in several other locations throughout northern Israel over the course of the day, but many residents of the area expressed support for the IDF's actions despite the damage and danger.

The deputy mayor of Kiryat Shmona, Ofir Yehezkeli, told Army Radio, "We feel that something has changed in the last week for the better and that they are finally making efforts to return us home. We must ensure a conclusive situation, where there are no Radwan forces at the border and no more bombardments—so we can raise our children properly."

Elsewhere, a senior Israeli official told the Times of Israel news portal that the goal of Operation Northern Arrows is "to change the balance of power in the north by destroying thousands of rockets, by destroying [Hezbollah’s] capabilities, and through other means."

He further explained that it began with covert operations to assasinate senior Hezbollah field commanders in targeted airstrikes, and "it has continued over the past two days with the expansion of massive fire with the aim of hitting Hezbollah hard.”

The two goals of this campaign are “to strengthen deterrence against Hezbollah and to create a situation where Israel can return residents to their homes.” The second goal is to deter “the entire Iranian axis.”

The official concluded by saying that what happens next is up to Hezbollah, saying "They know our demands" and “Either they’ll stop firing, or they won’t be able to anymore.”