Hezbollah Launches Second Rocket Attack on Israeli Settlement Metula

Hezbollah fired a second rocket salvo at the Israeli settlement of Metula in northern Israel on Tuesday, the Lebanese resistance movement announced, marking a renewed escalation along the Lebanon-Israel frontier that has drawn urgent attention from regional capitals including Doha.

The announcement, carried by the Quds News Network, stated that Metula — a settlement situated directly on the Lebanese border in the Upper Galilee — was struck for the second time in rapid succession, though initial reports did not specify casualty figures or the extent of material damage.

Metula has been a recurring flashpoint since the outbreak of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces in October 2023, when the Lebanese group declared a solidarity front with Gaza. The northern Israeli border region has since seen near-daily exchanges of fire, forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of Israeli settlers from border communities, including Metula itself.

The renewed rocket fire comes amid heightened tensions across the region as Israeli military operations in Gaza continue into their eighteenth month with no ceasefire agreement in sight. Qatar, which has played a central mediation role in ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel, has repeatedly warned that the absence of a durable agreement risks widening the conflict to encompass Lebanon and other parts of the Middle East.

Doha-based Al Jazeera and regional monitoring groups have documented a significant intensification of Hezbollah strikes in recent weeks, with the group expanding both the range and frequency of its rocket and drone attacks on northern Israeli targets. Israeli forces have responded with airstrikes on southern Lebanese villages and Hezbollah infrastructure.

The Gulf Cooperation Council, led by Qatar and Saudi Arabia, has called for an immediate halt to all hostilities and a return to diplomatic channels. Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has held successive rounds of talks with Lebanese, French, and American counterparts aimed at securing a parallel ceasefire on the northern front.

No group has yet issued a statement claiming specific targets or objectives for Tuesday's second salvo, and the Lebanese army has not commented. The situation along the Blue Line remains volatile, with United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon peacekeepers reporting sustained violations of Resolution 1701 by both sides.