Hizbollah's counter-response
Hizbollah has replied with its own escalation. Crude rockets, launched indiscriminately, have for the first time hit civilian population centres in cities such as Haifa, Tiberias, Afula and Nazareth.
As of 24 July, 41 Israelis have died, 17 of them civilians killed by the rockets in the north; many live in constant fear of the next attack and have been forced to flee their homes or find shelter. Israeli intelligence fears other weapons may be in Hizbollah’s hands: longer-range ballistic missiles that might be capable of reaching Tel Aviv and prove more devastating still.