The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday evening said it was responding to multiple launches from Lebanon toward Israeli territory.
"Over the last hour, a number of launches from Lebanon toward Israeli territory were identified. In response, the IDF is currently striking a series of Hezbollah terror targets in Lebanon,” the IDF said.
A CNN team in northern Israel saw an increase in the pace of rocket fire from Lebanon over the last hour, with Israel's Iron Dome engaging with two of them.
Several areas are also under alert in northern Israel, including Manara, Kiryat Shmona, and Safed.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, released a statement saying it hit an Israeli military barracks in the Shebaa Farms area with two attack drones, claiming they made "very direct hits inside the barracks." Shebaa Farms is disputed territory along the Israel-Lebanon border.
Sources in southern Lebanon speaking to CNN — as well as local media in Lebanon — also reported a pickup in crossfire along the border area in recent hours.
In addition to Hezbollah, the Lebanon branch of Hamas’ military wing said Thursday their forces had launched 12 rockets targeting the Kiryat Shmona and its surrounding areas in northern Israel.
The group said the actions were a response to what it described as the "occupation's massacres against our people in Gaza."
Some context: Israel and Hezbollah — an Iran-backed armed group that dominates southern Lebanon — have been engaged in daily cross-border exchanges of fire along the Lebanon-Israel border since the start of the conflict between Israel and Hamas on October 7, raising fears that the fighting could escalate into a regional war.