Hezbollah fires missile at Tel Aviv area, including Mossad HQ
What's the story
In a significant escalation of tensions, Hezbollah fired a ballistic missile at Tel Aviv early Wednesday.
The attack comes in the wake of heavy Israeli strikes on Lebanon that resulted in hundreds of casualties.
This is the first time that the Lebanese terror group has launched a rocket near Israel's central hub.
The Israeli military reported intercepting the surface-to-surface missile, triggering air raid sirens across central Israel and Tel Aviv.
No casualties or damage were reported.
Retaliation
Hezbollah targets Mossad headquarters with Qader 1 missile
Hezbollah announced that it targeted Israel's Mossad intelligence agency headquarters with a Qader 1 ballistic missile.
The group accuses Mossad of orchestrating a recent series of targeted assassinations of its top commanders and an attack last week involving bombs hidden in pagers and walkie-talkies.
This attack resulted in dozens of deaths and thousands injured, including members of the terror group.
On Monday and Tuesday alone, Israeli strikes resulted in at least 560 deaths in Lebanon.
Crisis
Rising tensions and casualties amidst ongoing conflict
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they intercepted the missile with the David's Sling defense system.
Later, the military announced that it had struck the Hezbollah launcher used to fire the missile in Nafakhiyeh, southern Lebanon.
Though the missile triggered sirens across a wide swath of central Israel's cities and towns, the Home Front Command stated that there were no changes in instructions for residents and that schools could continue to operate as usual.
Counterstrike
Israeli officials have stated that fighting will continue
The attack on Tel Aviv occurred amid several days of intense cross-border violence in the north.
Throughout Wednesday morning, Hezbollah continued to launch rockets at Israel, including 40 that were directed at Safed.
One of the rockets struck a home in the city, resulting in significant damage but no injuries.
Israeli officials have stated that fighting will continue until Hezbollah is deterred and tens of thousands of displaced northern residents can return home.