Major escalation in the north? Hezbollah launches 200 rockets & drones through the night as IDF pounds Beirut’s Dahiyeh

Israel’s northern front seems primed for another major escalation, after Hezbollah announced a new campaign against Israel by launching some 200 rockets at drones overnight, keeping hundreds of thousands of people in northern Israel in their shelters until the morning.

“We are on the eve of a fateful campaign in Lebanon which will determine the future of both countries,” a security official told Ynet News in the evening.

The first attack wave around 8 p.m. was the largest of the war so far, including around 100 rockets. However, security officials told Channel 12 News that the terror group had planned to launch two additional waves of the same scope, which were thwarted by immediate and massive airstrikes in Lebanon.

Last night also marked the first openly declared joint attack by Hezbollah and its Iranian patrons, as the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) declared it had precisely timed the simultaneous missile attack on central Israel.

Footage shows Hezbollah's large rocket barrage on northern Israel this evening. Around 100 rockets were fired, according to IDF assessments. pic.twitter.com/8wuG6J8kgg

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 11, 2026

Despite the scope of the attacks, only two Israelis were lightly wounded by impacts, while four others were treated for acute anxiety.

In the northern town of Bi’ina, a home was struck directly, while another rocket hit the yard of a home in Moshav Haniel in central Israel.

Footage published by Lebanese media shows heavy Israeli airstrikes in Beirut's southern suburbs.

The IDF said it had launched an "extensive" wave of strikes against Hezbollah infrastructure, after the terror group launched a barrage of around 100 rockets at northern Israel.… pic.twitter.com/dFuo3lX9Iw

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 11, 2026

“Only the safe room (mamad) remained completely intact,” the Emek Hefer Regional Council stated. Council head Galit Shaul said at the scene, “Fortunately, despite the impact right next to the house, the family went into the protected room and everyone is safe and healthy… Aside from property damage, everyone is completely fine.”

Hezbollah declared the attacks to be the start of a major campaign against Israel, which it dubbed “Eaten/Crumbling Straw,” an allusion to a Quranic verse where Allah destroys his enemies, as well as to the name Hamas gave its campaign against Israel in 2014.

One person was lightly hurt and damage was caused to a home in the northern town of Bi'ina, following an impact of a Hezbollah rocket this evening, rescue services say. pic.twitter.com/qIZpSRfBlg

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 11, 2026

Israeli officials said that the military had advance intelligence of Hezbollah’s plans to launch a broad wave of strikes. In the evening, the Israeli Air Force launched broad waves of aristrikes against targets of the group, and IDF Arabic Spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee renewed a call to evacuate its stronghold in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district, urging residents, “Do not return to the southern suburb until further notice.”

The airstrikes completely destroyed around twenty buildings, security officials told Channel 12. A senior Israeli official told The Times of Israel that the group’s strongholds would be devastated unless the Lebanese government starts to act against it.

🚨BREAKING: Red alert sirens sound in central Israel as the Iranian regime continues to fire missiles at Israel. pic.twitter.com/ctDzBLVHzC

— StandWithUs (@StandWithUs) March 12, 2026

“The Lebanese government needs to get a grip on their country,” said the official, “or Hezbollah parts of Beirut will soon look like Gaza.”

A senior security official told Ynet News that “the campaign in Lebanon is going to expand significantly,” amid reports that the IDF had called up additional reservists after reinforcing the northern sector with the 36th Division earlier this week.

The Israeli military said later it had “begun a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting terror infrastructure… across Lebanon.”

This included strikes on “dozens of launchers which were ready to launch” as well as “dozens of Hezbollah operatives while they were preparing to launch.”

Following last night's rocket barrage, the IDF says it destroyed 10 Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut’s southern suburbs and dozens of rocket launchers across Lebanon during a 30-minute span.

According to the military, the strikes took out launchers and Hezbollah operatives… pic.twitter.com/br7HlF24O1

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 12, 2026

“Simultaneously, the IDF struck 10 terror structures in the Dahieh area within 30 minutes, including intelligence headquarters, a headquarters of the Radwan unit, and additional command centers. Moreover, the Israeli Air Force, guided by ground troops, struck more than 20 targets.”

Later, the IDF said it had conducted additional strikes “from the air and sea in the Beirut area,” hitting “terrorist infrastructure, weapons storage facilities, central headquarters, and the IRGC Air Force headquarters in Beirut.”

“So far, approximately 70 terrorist targets have been struck in the Beirut area, including buildings that were used by Hezbollah for terrorist purposes.”

The senior security official explained to Ynet News that “Hezbollah, in its calculations, wants to turn our attention away from Iran, and thinks that if it draws us in, we will take our foot off the gas in the campaign against Iran.”

The group “wants to create a new balance in which Israel’s enforcement policy in Lebanon ends, and we don’t attack at all. That won’t happen. Therefore, this is heading toward a serious escalation.”

“We have more capabilities and tools, and we can conduct campaigns in parallel against Iran and against Lebanon,” the official vowed.