Israeli strikes have killed dozens in Lebanon as Israel accuses Hezbollah of firing about 250 rockets.

Tel Aviv – Israel said dozens of rockets were fired into the north of the country on Sunday by Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters from neighboring Lebanon. The attack came days later devastating strikes by the Israel Defense Forceswhich is aimed at Hezbollah areas around the Lebanese capital Beirut.

Israeli officials said there were injuries caused by Hezbollah rocket fire, but most of the weapons were intercepted by Israel’s missile defense systems.

The IDF’s heavy-handed attack on Hezbollah saw it send missiles at buildings in Hezbollah strongholds near Beirut over the weekend, killing scores of people, according to Lebanese health officials.

Hezbollah began launching rockets into Israel in support of its Gaza allies Hamas a day after ongoing war in the Palestinian territory and theirs October 7, 2023 terrorist attack.

Israel’s exchange of fire with The most powerful group in Iran is called the proxy group has been increasing in recent days despite yet another campaign by American officials to end the shooting.

American and Israeli officials said over the weekend, as the death toll rises in Lebanon, that a peace deal between Hezbollah and Israel may be imminent.

Israel’s ambassador to the US, Mike Herzog, told Israeli military radio on Monday that a ceasefire could be reached “within days.”

The agreement in these activities “must stay away from Hezbollah, to allow the citizens of the north [of Israel] to return to their homes,” he said, referring to the Israeli government’s long-stated goal of allowing tens of thousands of civilians to return to homes abandoned near the Lebanese border amid Hezbollah rocket fire.

He said that if an agreement is reached, Israel will retain the right to respond to “disruptions” going forward. He said some points still need to be finalized in the negotiations, but added: “We are close to an agreement,” and “it could happen in a few days.”

Instead of any deal so far, tensions remained high across Lebanon on Monday, when the health minister said Israel’s Hezbollah offensive had killed more than 3,750 people since Sunday, left another 15,630 wounded and displaced some 1.4 million people. in their homes. Most of the dead were women and children, according to the ministry.

All classes at schools and universities in Beirut were canceled by the national Ministry of Education until January, citing security concerns following Israeli strikes last week.

That included one of the deadliest strikes in central Beirut to date. Over the weekend, an IDF attack killed more than 80 people, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

The IDF said it was looking for Hezbollah weapons and fighters planted among civilians and infrastructure around Beirut.

Beirut resident Abeer Darwich denied that, saying Israel “attacked peaceful people in their homes.”

contributed to this report.