The strikes are part of an increasingly intense phase of operations that began with Hezbollah suffering losses due to thousands of exploding pagers on September 17. In the following days, more Hezbollah devices exploded, and the IDF carried out a strike in Beirut that eliminated 16 Hezbollah commanders. This set the stage for wide-ranging airstrikes against Hezbollah rocket launchers, followed by additional targets across southern Lebanon and in the Bekaa Valley.

The IDF has increased the intensity of its strikes in stages. Hezbollah has sought to respond, launching rockets deeper into Israel on September 22. The Iranian-backed group followed up this attack by launching waves of rockets across northern Israel, with some reaching central Israel on September 23.

The IDF has trained for war against Hezbollah for many years, as the Iranian-backed group was seen as the major threat to Israel’s security before Hamas’s attack on October 7. The IDF had estimated that Hezbollah would be able to launch between hundreds and thousands of rockets per day at Israel in a conflict. However, throughout the first days of this new phase of the conflict with Hezbollah, the group has usually resorted to barrages of dozens of projectiles and hasn’t been able to launch more than several hundred per day.