Is Israel launching 'revenge attacks' after Hezbollah's deadly Haifa army base drone strike?

Lebanese have been bracing for further 'revenge attacks' by Israeli forces, following a Hezbollah drone strike on a military base in northern Israel, resulting in the deaths of four soldiers, with scores more injured.

At least 18 people were killed in an Israeli strike on northern Lebanon on Monday, the Lebanese Red Cross said, well outside the conflict zone in the south, with fears of further 'revenge attacks' by Israel.

Israeli and Hezbollah clashes have been mostly centered in border areas in southern Lebanon over the past year, but Israel has expanded this campaign in recent weeks with deadly air strikes across Lebanon, including the capital Beirut.

"Eighteen dead and four wounded in the strike on Aito," the Red Cross announced, referring to a village in the Christian-majority Zgharta district of northern Lebanon, far away from Hezbollah's strongholds in the south.

Civilians have continued to flee southern Lebanon amid Israel's weeks-long ground and aerial offensive on the region, which has killed hundreds of civilians.

Lebanese and Palestinian civilian areas are frequently targeted after Israeli fatalities in Hezbollah or Hamas rocket attacks, with the bombing of a hospital in Gaza on Sunday evening seeing patients burned alive in their beds, in another possible act of revenge by Israel.

Hezbollah confirmed responsibility for Sunday's fatal drone strike near the town of Binyamina, south of Haifa, which killed the Israeli soldiers, describing it as a "qualitative and complex operation".

The group said it launched a "swarm of drones" at a Golani Brigade camp, framing the operation as support for the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and in defence of Lebanon, where Israel is conducting brutal ground and air attacks.

Israel's Channel 12 said no warning sirens were triggered when the rockets hit the base.

Israel's army chief, Herzi Halevi, visited the Golani Brigade training base after it had been targeted. There was speculation earlier that he had been injured or killed in the strike but this turned out to be false.

"We are at war, and an attack on a training base on the home front is difficult, and the results are painful," he told the soldiers, acknowledging the attack's severity.

On Monday, Hezbollah said it had also targeted an Israeli naval base near Haifa, claiming responsibility for launching "a rocket salvo".

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) said it intercepted several projectiles fired from Lebanon on Monday, with the military stating that they were detected crossing into Israeli territory.

Separately, the UN reported that Israeli tanks forcibly entered a UNIFIL base on Sunday, amid continued global criticism of Israel for its targeting of UN peacekeepers.

UNIFIL stated that two Israeli tanks destroyed the main gate of the base before dawn.

After their departure, shells exploded 100 metres away, releasing smoke that affected UN personnel.

Israel has disputed the UN's account, while world leaders have condemned the attacks on UN missions.

Spain's Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, called the assaults on UNIFIL "unacceptable," and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell denounced the series of Israeli attacks as "completely unacceptable".

At least five peacekeepers being wounded in recent days.

Israeli airstrikes on Sunday killed 51 people across Lebanon, according to the Lebanese health ministry, with an additional 174 reported injured.

The casualties included 22 from Mount Lebanon and 10 from the southern Nabatieh region.

Since last October, more than 2,306 people have been killed and over 10,598 wounded, with the majority of casualties occurring since mid-September when Israel expanded its military operations to its northern border with Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Lebanese journalists and activists are still calling for justice for Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah, who was killed a year ago, by Israeli tank fire while covering cross-border clashes in southern Lebanon.

On 13 October 2023, two strikes occurred in quick succession, resulting in Abdallah's death and the injury of six other journalists, including AFP photographer Christina Assi and video journalist Dylan Collins.

Beirut-based NGO Legal Agenda stated on social media, "A year after the killing of photographer Issam Abdallah, Israeli impunity continues."

On Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the lack of accountability for Israel regarding Abdallah's death.