In Response to Khamenei's Death, Hizbullah Launches Missiles and Drones at Israel

Hizbullah has formally entered the latest Middle Eastern conflict by firing missiles and drones at Israel. The militant group based in Lebanon described the attack as retaliation for the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“The resistance leadership has consistently emphasised that the continuation of Israeli attacks and the killing of our leaders, youth, and people give us the right to defend ourselves and retaliate at the appropriate time and place,” the group said in a statement, according to Al Arabiya and Reuters.

Hizbullah stated they attacked Israel “in retaliation for the pure blood of Ali Khamenei, to defend Lebanon and its people, and in response to repeated Israeli attacks.”

Projectiles launched from Lebanon triggered air raid sirens across several areas in northern Israel on Sunday evening local time. This marked the first launches from Lebanese territory since US and Israeli operations against Iran commenced.

The Israeli military swiftly launched counter-attacks against Hizbullah targets in Lebanon, including in the southern suburbs of Beirut, the Lebanese capital.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam described the projectile launches from southern Lebanon as “irresponsible” and “suspicious” actions that endangered Lebanon’s security.

Previously, Israel and Lebanon had agreed to a US-mediated ceasefire in 2024, ending hostilities that had lasted over a year between Israel and Hizbullah. However, amid the ceasefire, both sides have resumed mutual attacks.

Hizbullah, long one of Iran’s principal allies in the Middle East, expressed solidarity with Iran on Saturday. However, at that time, they did not indicate whether they would engage in this conflict.