Lebanon's Hezbollah says it bombed in Israel's Tel Aviv; flights halted

Air raid sirens sound in Israel's Tel Aviv after Lebanon's Hezbollah said on Tuesday it bombed the Nirit area in the Tel Aviv suburbs with missiles. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Arriving and departing flights have been reportedly halted at Ben Gurion International Airport, following the launch of missiles towards Tel Aviv.

The rock attack came a day after Israel struck around 300 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon over 24 hours, ramping up its offensive to hit the group's finances, as the United States called for the war to end “as soon as possible”.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to begin a tour of the Middle East in Israel on Tuesday in a new push for an elusive ceasefire in the Gaza Strip after more than a year of war there and to contain the regional escalation.

In Lebanon, the health ministry said four people were killed and 24 wounded Monday evening in Israeli strikes near the country's largest public hospital, in the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut.

It earlier reported six people killed in the eastern city of Baalbek and said four rescuers linked to Hezbollah had died in the south in Israeli raids over 24 hours.

Israel's military said an underground vault with tens of millions of dollars in cash and gold was among nearly 30 targets belonging to Hezbollah-linked financial firm Al-Qard al-Hassan hit since Sunday night.

The money in the vault was “being used to finance Hezbollah's attacks on Israel”, Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said.

Another bunker, yet to be targeted, was estimated to hold "at least half a billion dollars in dollar bills and gold", he added.

Hagari also said the latest commander responsible for funding Iran-backed Hezbollah was "eliminated" Monday in Syria. The man was "responsible for the transfers and the amount of funds" to the group through Tehran's oil sales, he said.

Syria's defence ministry earlier announced the death of two people in a strike attributed to Israel targeting a car in Damascus.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a memorial was being held nearby for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israel last week in Gaza, more than a year into the war triggered by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

(With inputs from agencies)

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.