Original article: Irán golpea Haifa y Hezbolá embosca tanques israelíes en otra jornada de escalada
In a new escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon successfully executed an ambush that resulted in the destruction of Israeli tanks in the southern part of the country, while Iran’s armed forces confirmed an attack on strategic oil facilities in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, as well as U.S. military bases in the area.
This dual offensive, orchestrated by two key actors in the so-called ‘Axis of Resistance’, caused severe damage to the energy and military infrastructure of both Tel Aviv and Washington.
Hezbollah Sets a Deadly Trap for Israel in Khiam
In southern Lebanon, the early hours of Tuesday saw one of Hezbollah’s deadliest operations in recent weeks. According to reports from the Shiite movement’s military sources, their fighters successfully lured an Israeli military unit into an ambush on the outskirts of the city of Khiam.
The clash began when Israeli forces attempted to advance near the detention center located in the southern sector of the city. At that moment, resistance fighters enacted their plan, «destroying three Merkava tanks after drawing Israeli forces into a carefully prepared ambush near the detention center located on the outskirts of the city,» Hezbollah noted.
The operation did not end with the initial attack, as Lebanese resistance fighters set a second trap. The movement reported that «their fighters also attacked evacuation teams attempting to reach the damaged vehicles.»
This action had devastating consequences for the Israeli column, resulting in «the burning of the tanks» and causing casualties among the forces of the Zionist regime.
Rocket Barrage on Israeli Positions
The Khiam ambush was just the beginning of a night filled with high tension along the border. According to Palestine Chronicle, at 1:30 a.m. (Beirut time), even before the ambush, resistance fighters had already launched «a barrage of rockets against the Yiftah barracks,» an Israeli military base near the border.
Subsequently, as the night progressed, these attacks unfolded in succession. At 2:45 a.m., Hezbollah forces bombarded «with a rain of rockets an Israeli position recently established on Tell al-Hamams hill, south of Khiam.» The cited media reported that the group’s rocket artillery also hit «an Israeli artillery position near al-Abbad site» and «a concentration of Israeli occupation soldiers at al-Malikiyah, just across from the border city of Aitaroun.» In this same area, combatants attacked another newly established enemy position in Jabal al-Bat.
Earlier, at 1:30 a.m., the resistance fighters had launched a barrage of rockets against the Yiftah barracks.
The offensive extended further into the occupied territories. By dawn on Tuesday, Hezbollah confirmed it had attacked the Israeli drone control base of Geva, located east of the occupied city of Safed.
The rocket attacks also targeted a group of soldiers and occupation vehicles at a newly established position near the city of Markaba.
Missile strikes also aimed at an artillery position near the Marj site, opposite Markaba, as well as a concentration of Israeli forces on the heights of Kahil, on the eastern outskirts of the border city of Maroun al-Ras.
The fighters also bombarded Israeli occupation soldiers gathered in the Khanouq area of the village of Aitaroun.
On Monday afternoon, the movement announced that it had attacked the Tel Hashomer base, headquarters of the Israeli army’s central command, southeast of Tel Aviv, with two attack drones.
The Lebanese resistance also confirmed an attack on the Tziporit base, east of Haifa, which involved a squadron of drones, marking the first operation of this kind against that base.
The choice of Haifa as a target is not coincidental, as it is a crucial port and a key hub for Israel’s economy and defense.
Iran Emerges: Missiles Over Haifa and Kuwait
The day’s escalation took on a regional dimension when the Iranian army issued its statement No. 20, announcing that its ground forces had attacked oil and gas refinery facilities and fuel storage sites located in the coastal city of Haifa in northern Israel.
Tehran justified this action as a proportionate response to recent strikes against its own oil facilities and made it clear that «the confrontation with the United States and Israel would continue.»
Specifically, the statement asserted that «the battle of the Islamic Republic ‘against the criminals of the United States and the child-killing Israeli entity will continue until the final victory of the front of truth over falsehood.’»
Hours earlier, in statement No. 19 issued on Monday, the Islamic nation had already detailed a larger-scale attack, noted Palestine Chronicle.
In the text, the Iranian army claimed that its ground, air, and naval forces «had carried out operations using suicide drones against Israeli targets and U.S. military bases.»
These bombings targeted the combat support unit ‘Rahwam’ and the early warning radar station at U.S. base 512 inside Israeli territory.
However, the offensive was not limited to Israeli facilities but also included assembly centers and equipment depots of U.S. forces at the Al-Adiri camp in Kuwait.
