Two injured, one seriously, as Hezbollah pounds north with rockets
Two people were wounded, one of them seriously, by a Hezbollah rocket that struck the northern border town of Kiryat Shmona on Monday as the Iran-backed terror group fired multiple salvos into Israel.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service said a man in his 50s was hit in the face by shrapnel. He was listed in serious condition.
MDA said he was taken to Rambam Hospital in Haifa by helicopter.
Another man in his 80s was lightly hurt by shrapnel, and he was taken to Ziv Medical Center in Safed by ambulance, MDA added.
The rocket launched from Lebanon struck a road, causing damage to a bus and injuring the man standing near it.
Several other rocket impacts were reported in the city, in what was the fourth rocket attack within an hour.
The barrages followed earlier rocket attacks and a drone infiltration.
In the afternoon, residents of communities on the Lebanon border were instructed by the military to remain close to bomb shelters, amid expectations of increased rocket fire. However, the military lifted that instruction about a half hour later, after a fresh assessment.
Since it resumed its attacks on March 2, Hezbollah has been firing an average of about 150 rockets per day, according to the IDF. Roughly two-thirds of the daily rocket fire has been directed at Israeli forces operating in southern Lebanon and along the border, with the remaining third aimed at Israel.
IDF says it struck Quds Force member in Beirut
The Israel Defense Forces said Monday afternoon it had carried out a strike in the Beirut area targeting a member of the Quds Force, the extraterritorial arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
No further details on the strike in Lebanon’s capital were immediately given by the IDF.
Lebanon’s health ministry said around the same time that an Israeli strike on the Hazmieh suburb killed at least one person.
Hazmieh, a predominantly Christian residential area near Lebanon’s presidential palace, hosts several foreign embassies. It was the second strike reported there amid the current round of fighting.
Israel strikes another bridge on Litani River
Israel also struck a bridge on the eastern portion of the Litani River, Lebanese state media reported.
“The Israeli army targeted the Dallafa bridge, which connects the Hasbaya-Marjeyoun region with the Jezzine-Chouf and Western Bekaa regions,” Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported.
The IDF had warned in advance that it would bomb the bridge to prevent Hezbollah from moving operatives and weapons into southern Lebanon.
Earlier, Lebanese media reported that the Israeli Air Force struck a different crossing that had already been bombed several days ago.
Images purported to show that the Qaaqaait al-Jisr Bridge was destroyed.
مراسلة «الأخبار»: العدو الإسرائيلي أعاد قصف جسر قعقعية الجسر ودمره كلياً بعد أن كان قد استهدفه قبل أيام pic.twitter.com/VTR2dJwK9Y — جريدة الأخبار – Al-Akhbar (@AlakhbarNews) March 23, 2026
مراسلة «الأخبار»: العدو الإسرائيلي أعاد قصف جسر قعقعية الجسر ودمره كلياً بعد أن كان قد استهدفه قبل أيام pic.twitter.com/VTR2dJwK9Y
— جريدة الأخبار – Al-Akhbar (@AlakhbarNews) March 23, 2026
On Sunday, Israel blew up the Qasmiya Bridge on the Litani, the fifth crossing to be targeted by Israel since March 2. Earlier in the day, the IDF warned it intended to strike the bridge.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said earlier that he had instructed the IDF to “immediately destroy all the bridges over the Litani River that are used for terror activity, to prevent the passage of Hezbollah terrorists and weapons southward.”
UNIFIL headquarters hit by projectile from ‘non-state actor’
The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said Monday that its headquarters in Naqoura had been hit by a projectile, probably launched by a “non-state actor,” after Hezbollah declared it had targeted Israeli forces in the same town.
“Just before noon today, a projectile hit a building inside our headquarters,” UNIFIL said in a statement. “Peacekeepers with expertise in explosive ordnance disposal are working to deal with it. We believe it was fired by a non-state actor.”
UNIFIL’s statement came after Hezbollah claimed at least two attacks on Monday against Israeli forces in Naqura.
In its Monday statement, UNIFIL said it had observed over the past 48 hours “intense gunfire and explosions” in and around Naqoura, close to its headquarters.
“Bullets, fragments, and shrapnel have hit buildings and open areas inside our headquarters, putting peacekeepers at risk. As a result, peacekeepers have been restricted to shelters to avoid injury,” it said.
The force reminded “all actors of their responsibility to ensure the safety and security of peacekeepers.”
“We reiterate that there is no military solution to this conflict and urge the actors to put down their weapons and commit to working toward a long-term solution, before more people get hurt,” it said.
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