Hezbollah on October 12 said it had fired a number of missiles and drones at an Israeli military base south of Haifa and at the outskirts of Tel Aviv as Israelis celebrated Yom Kippur, the most important holiday on the Jewish religious calendar.
Hezbollah -- an armed group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon -- said its forces targeted "the explosives factory there with a salvo of...missiles" in the Haifa region, while it said it sent a swarm of drones toward Tel Aviv, the economic center of the country.
The Israeli military confirmed that Hezbollah fired hundreds of projectiles from Lebanon into Israel over Yom Kippur, which ended at sundown on October 12.
"Throughout the weekend of Yom Kippur, approximately 320 projectiles that were fired by the Hezbollah terrorist organization crossed from Lebanon into Israel," the military said in a statement.
Hezbollah is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, while the EU blacklists its armed wing but not its political party.
Israel has meanwhiile faced a of barrage of diplomatic criticism over a second strike at a United Nations peacekeeping position in Lebanon.
Two Sri Lankan peacekeepers were hurt in the incident, the UNIFIL mission said on October 11.
The Israeli military said it had fired at "an immediate threat" around 50 meters from the UNIFIL post.
On October 10, two Indonesian soldiers were hurt when Israeli tank fire hit a watchtower.
The UN peacekeeping force said in a statement that the incident occurred at its headquarters in the town of Naqoura, adding that Israeli forces also fired on a nearby bunker where peacekeepers were sheltering, damaging vehicles and a communication system.
The incidents sparked condemnation from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Israel's Western allies, prompting the Israeli military to pledge to carry out a "thorough review."
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it hit some 280 "terror targets" in Lebanon and in the Gaza Strip over the weekend.
"Among these targets were underground terror infrastructure sites, weapons storage facilities, military command centers, terrorist cells, and additional terrorist infrastructure sites," a statement read.
Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf on October 12 traveled to Beirut, condemning what he called Israel's "crimes."
He met Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who said his government's priority was "to work toward a cease-fire," according to Lebanon's official National News Agency.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on October 11 that Washington was still working to prevent a larger war in the Middle East and urged Israel to protect civilians after 22 people were killed in strikes on two buildings in central Beirut.
"We continue to engage intensely to prevent broader conflict in the region," Blinken told reporters after an East Asia summit in Laos, adding that it was "vitally important" for Israel to ensure that civilians are protected during the conflict.
Lebanese sources said at least one senior Hezbollah figure was targeted in the attacks, which were the third on Beirut since Israel started a military campaign in southern Lebanon last month against the Iran-allied Hezbollah militia, sparking fears of an all-out regional war.
Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV reported after the strikes that an attempt to kill Wafiq Safa, a top security official with the group, had failed. It said that Safa had not been inside either of the targeted buildings.
Safa heads Hezbollah's liaison and coordination unit responsible for working with Lebanese security agencies, security sources said.