11:40 p.m. ET, December 12, 2023
Israel strikes targets in Syria and Lebanon amid cross-border exchanges
From CNN's Andrew Carey
Israeli forces struck targets in Syria and Lebanon over the past 24 hours, the military said Tuesday, the latest in cross-border exchanges that have raised fears Israel's war with Hamas could spark a wider regional conflict.
In Syria, Israeli warplanes and tanks struck several Syrian army posts and other military infrastructure in response to three launches from Syrian territory, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.
Only one launch from Syria landed inside open ground in Israel, the IDF added.
It marks the first time in five days that Israel has reported incoming fire from Syrian territory.
By contrast, cross-border exchanges between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants based in southern Lebanon having been taking place daily for weeks.
In Lebanon, Israel said one of its fighter jets hit what it called military infrastructure and a Hezbollah launch post on Tuesday, after identifying incoming anti-tank missile and mortar fire launched across its northern border.
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari accused Hezbollah of continuing to “operate from within the villages and urban areas of southern Lebanon,” saying their actions “put Lebanese territory at risk.”
Displacement claim: Hagari also claimed that more than 100,000 people had recently fled their homes in southern Lebanon and moved north inside the country amid the cross-border exchanges. It is the first time Israel’s chief military spokesman has made such a claim about people leaving the region.
Hagari appeared to suggest they were fleeing escalating tensions, though he offered no direct explanation for the move and was not asked about it when taking questions from reporters.