Hezbollah’s 124-Strike Blitz: Rockets Hit Central Israel, Haifa Naval Base Targeted as Northern Front Erupts

Hezbollah fires rockets at central Israel for first time since 2024 ceasefire, targets Haifa naval base and military industries, as IDF issues mass evacuation orders for south Lebanon and Beirut suburbs.

By [HARRIS KHAN], Senior Correspondent for Geopolitical and Defence Affairs, Dusk News

Published: March 11, 2026

Hezbollah attacks Israel with 124 strikes in one week, including rockets at central Israel and Haifa naval base. Israel responds with Beirut strikes and mass evacuation orders as Lebanon front escalates.

URL: https://dusk.com.pk/hezbollah-attacks-israel-lebanon-front-iran-war

BEIRUT / JERUSALEM: The northern front has exploded. Since March 2, 2026, Lebanon’s Hezbollah has launched a staggering 124 attacks on Israeli military, civilian, and security targets—marking the most intense escalation since the November 2024 ceasefire collapsed . The Iran-backed group fired rockets at central Israel for the first time in 16 months, targeted the Haifa naval base, and struck military industries south of Acre, as the US-Israeli war with Iran expands into a full-blown second front .

Israel has responded with overwhelming force. The IDF has carried out hundreds of airstrikes across Lebanon, issued evacuation orders for all residents of south Lebanon and four neighborhoods in Beirut’s Dahiyeh al-Janoubia, and sent ground troops into border areas to push Hezbollah’s capabilities away from northern Israeli communities . Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in the fighting, while Lebanese authorities report nearly 400 dead and more than 759,000 displaced .

The escalation has drawn in senior Iranian commanders. The IDF eliminated the chief of staff of the Qods Force’s Lebanon Corps, Hezbollah’s representative in the Qods Force’s Palestine Corps, and multiple intelligence personnel operating in Lebanon . Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s military wing chief in Lebanon and a senior Hamas military trainer were also killed in Israeli strikes .

This is no longer a border skirmish. It is a coordinated war front, directly linked to the broader confrontation between Iran and the US-Israeli alliance—and it is threatening to consume Lebanon entirely.

Hezbollah’s ‘Unprecedented’ Barrage: 124 Attacks in Seven Days
Hezbollah’s renewed offensive began on March 2, when the group fired rockets and drones into northern Israel “in retaliation for the pure blood of… Ayatollah Imam Sayyid Ali al-Husseini Khamenei… and in defence of Lebanon and its people, and in response to the repeated Israeli attacks” . The strike marked Hezbollah’s first attack since the November 2024 ceasefire and immediately drew Israeli retaliation across Beirut’s southern suburbs .

Since then, the pace has been relentless. According to the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for 124 attacks between March 2 and March 9 . The group has employed a diverse arsenal:

Rockets and missiles: Including precision-guided missiles targeting military bases, barracks, and troop concentrations

Suicide drones: Launched at the Ktsavia base in the occupied Syrian Golan and the Ammiad base south of Safed

Anti-tank guided missiles: Used against Israeli forces inside southern Lebanon

Anti-aircraft missiles: Fired at Israeli Air Force aircraft operating over Lebanese territory

Key targets struck by Hezbollah this week include:

Rafael military industries complex south of Acre in northwestern Israel

Haifa naval base in northern Israel

Military positions in the Galilee region

Ya’ra military barracks in northern Israel

Naftali military base

Ein Zeitim and Ami’ad military headquarters

Meron air surveillance station

Sasa “military factory”

On March 3, Hezbollah fired rockets at central Israel for the first time since the November 2024 ceasefire—a significant escalation that demonstrated the group’s ability to reach deep into Israeli territory . The organization also issued “evacuation notices” to residents of the northern Israeli cities of Nahariya and Kiryat Shmona, ordering them to move south, and claimed responsibility for attacking both cities after the warnings .

Israeli media described Hezbollah’s rocket and missile fire on March 5 as “unprecedented” since the escalation eight months ago, with more than 215 projectiles launched from Lebanon in a single day . The IDF reported that some triggered fires that endangered “strategic sites and facilities” across northern Israel .

Hezbollah’s leadership has vowed to intensify the campaign. At the funeral of senior commander Taleb Sami Abdullah—killed in an Israeli strike on March 4—Hezbollah Executive Council head Hashem Safieddine told mourners: “Experience has proven that the more leaders are martyred, the more stable and entrenched the resistance becomes. We will increase our operations in intensity, strength, quantity and quality” .

Hezbollah Secretary General Na’im Qassem justified the renewed attacks as a response to ongoing Israeli-American “aggression” and “violations” of the November 2024 ceasefire agreement . He claimed that for 15 months, Hezbollah had held back militarily to allow Lebanese diplomacy to halt Israeli attacks—but that effort had failed .

Israel’s Response: Hundreds of Strikes, Mass Evacuations, Ground Incursion
Israel has responded with overwhelming military force. The IDF has carried out hundreds of aerial attacks on Hezbollah targets across Lebanon, including:

South Lebanon: Continuous strikes on launchers, command centers, and military infrastructure in villages along the border

Beqa’a Valley: Attacks on Hezbollah facilities, including al-Qard al-Hasan Association buildings (the group’s financial arm) and weapons depots

Dahiyeh al-Janoubia: Repeated strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, Hezbollah’s urban stronghold

On March 6, the Israeli military announced it had conducted a “broad-scale wave of strikes” in southern Beirut, hitting an “executive council’s command centre and a facility storing UAVs utilised by Hezbollah” . The IDF said it had carried out 26 waves of strikes in Dahiyeh since the campaign began .

On March 11, Israel launched new attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs, with Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reporting “a violent raid” and AFPTV footage showing plumes of smoke rising from the area .

In a dramatic escalation, the IDF has also expanded ground operations. Israeli forces have seized “commanding positions” in south Lebanon to push Hezbollah’s attack capabilities farther from northern Israeli communities . Ground troops have eliminated local Hezbollah operatives and located weapons caches . Two IDF soldiers have been killed in the fighting .

The Israeli military has issued unprecedented evacuation warnings:

All residents of south Lebanon were ordered to leave their homes and move north of the Litani River

Residents of four neighborhoods in Dahiyeh al-Janoubia (Beirut’s southern suburbs) were required to relocate to other areas

Evacuation warnings were also issued for communities in the Beqa’a Valley

The IDF’s Arabic spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, has been publishing these evacuation notices on social media platforms, urging civilians to leave Hezbollah strongholds to reduce harm to the local population .

Israeli officials have made clear their objectives. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the Lebanese government directly on X, writing: “It is your responsibility to enforce the ceasefire agreement and it is your responsibility to disarm Hezbollah” . The IDF’s chief of staff, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, said his forces were “ready to move to an offensive” against Hezbollah .

The Human Toll: 400 Dead, 759,000 Displaced
The escalation has inflicted devastating human costs on Lebanon. According to Lebanese authorities:

Casualties: Nearly 400 people have been killed since the escalation began, according to the Lebanese health ministry . Israeli strikes on the southern town of Qana on March 11 killed five people and wounded five others . In Hennawiyeh, two wounded individuals and a rescuer who came to their aid were killed in follow-up strikes .

Displacement: More than 759,300 people have been registered as displaced, with 122,600 staying in shelters . The Lebanese prime minister said the state was committed to providing shelter for all the displaced . The disaster management unit reported that over 28,500 people were displaced on the first day of strikes alone .

Hezbollah losses: While Hezbollah has not released official casualty figures, unofficial estimates suggest more than 100 operatives have been killed in Israeli attacks . Photographs of operatives have appeared on social media accounts, some in notices confirming their Hezbollah affiliation .

Ahmed al-Halabi, a father of two from the Dahieh area of south Beirut, fled with his extended family in the middle of the night as missiles struck nearby. “We were running away from the bombing! There’s no safety!” he told the BBC. “I have little kids and the living conditions were already bad. You can only imagine how it is during wartime. I just want to keep my kids safe” .

Now living in a school-turned-shelter in central Beirut, he added: “This is the second time my kids have experienced this and they have developed psychological trauma. The adults can live with this. The kids cannot” .

Lebanon’s Political Crisis: Government Turns on Hezbollah
The war has triggered a political earthquake in Lebanon. The Lebanese government, long paralyzed by Hezbollah’s power, has taken unprecedented steps to distance itself from the group and assert state authority.

Key developments:

Declaration of illegality: Lebanon’s Cabinet declared all military and security activity outside state authority illegal, affirming that decisions on war and peace rest solely with state institutions . It ordered security agencies to prevent rocket or drone launches from Lebanese territory .

Qods Force expulsion: The government ordered the expulsion of all Qods Force operatives from Lebanon and announced that Iranian citizens would require visas to enter the country .

Presidential condemnation: President Joseph Aoun delivered unusually blunt criticism of Hezbollah, accusing the group of acting against Lebanon’s national interests . Referring to Hezbollah as an “armed faction,” Aoun said it gave “no weight to Lebanon’s interests or to the lives of its people,” and wanted the “collapse of the Lebanese state under aggression and chaos” .

Peace initiative: Aoun outlined a four-point plan calling for a “complete truce,” Hezbollah’s disarmament, international assistance for the Lebanese Armed Forces to regain control, and direct negotiations with Israel under international sponsorship .

Lebanese army withdrawal: The Lebanese army withdrew from positions in south Lebanon and erected checkpoints to prevent the passage of Hezbollah operatives and weapons south of the Litani River .

Prime Minister Nawaz Salam called Hezbollah’s initial attacks on March 2 “irresponsible and suspicious,” stating that his government would “take all necessary measures to stop the perpetrators and protect the Lebanese people” .

However, Hezbollah lawmaker Mohammed Raad criticized the government’s decisions, saying they target groups confronting Israeli attacks while failing to halt what he described as ongoing aggression . Sources close to Hezbollah claimed the organization was on full alert, new field leaders had been appointed, and morale remained high .

The Regional Context: Lebanon as Iran War Second Front
The Lebanon escalation cannot be understood in isolation. It is directly tied to the broader US-Israeli war with Iran that began on February 28, 2026.

Hezbollah’s March 2 attack was explicitly framed as retaliation for the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes . The group said it was acting “in defence of Lebanon and its people, and in response to the repeated Israeli attacks”—but also to avenge the blood of Iran’s leader .

The IDF has been targeting Iranian assets in Lebanon with precision. Eliminated figures include:

The chief of staff of the Qods Force’s Lebanon Corps, responsible for transferring funds to finance terrorist groups in Lebanon

Hezbollah’s representative in the Qods Force’s Palestine Corps

Multiple intelligence personnel coordinating between Iran, Hezbollah, and Palestinian factions

The IDF also ordered representatives of the Iranian regime in Lebanon to leave the country or they would become targets .

Palestinian factions in Lebanon have been hit hard. The head of the military wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s Lebanon branch was eliminated in an attack in Beirut, and the terrorist responsible for Hamas’ military training in Lebanon was killed in an attack in the al-Badawi refugee camp in northern Lebanon .

The conflict has also drawn in UNIFIL. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon accused both Israel and Hezbollah of violating UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and reported that three of its personnel were injured in an attack on one of its positions .

What to Watch in the Next 48 Hours
Beirut Strikes: Will Israel expand its campaign deeper into Beirut’s urban centers? The strikes near central Beirut on March 2 marked the first such attacks since the 2024 ceasefire .

Ground Incursion Expansion: Will Israeli forces push deeper into Lebanese territory, or will they hold current positions?

Hezbollah’s Rocket Campaign: Can Hezbollah sustain its current tempo of 124 attacks per week, and will it attempt further strikes on central Israel?

Lebanese Government Implementation: Will Beirut actually enforce Hezbollah’s disarmament and Qods Force expulsion, or are these symbolic gestures?

Civilian Displacement Crisis: With over 759,000 displaced, how will Lebanon handle a humanitarian catastrophe that shows no signs of abating?

The Bottom Line
The northern front has become a full-blown war. Hezbollah’s 124 attacks in one week—including rockets at central Israel and strikes on Haifa naval base—represent the most significant escalation since the 2024 ceasefire. Israel’s response has been equally dramatic: hundreds of airstrikes, mass evacuation orders for south Lebanon and Beirut suburbs, and a ground incursion that has already killed two Israeli soldiers.

But the most profound shift may be political. The Lebanese government’s unprecedented condemnation of Hezbollah, its demand for the group’s disarmament, and its call for direct negotiations with Israel suggest that the war may be reshaping Lebanon’s internal dynamics as much as its external frontlines.

Whether Beirut can—or will—actually implement these measures remains deeply uncertain. Hezbollah remains the most powerful military force in Lebanon, and its leadership has vowed to continue fighting “whatever the cost” .

What is certain is this: the second front is now fully open. And with Iranian commanders being killed in Lebanese territory and Hezbollah rockets reaching central Israel, the risk of this conflict expanding further—vertically into nuclear escalation, horizontally into a regional inferno—has never been higher.