Hezbollah says it fired ballistic missile on Mossad headquarters in Tel Aviv

ANKARA

Lebanese group Hezbollah announced Wednesday that it had fired a missile at Tel Aviv for the first time, targeting the headquarters of Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, amid an ongoing escalation between the two sides.

In a statement, the group said it fired a "Qader-1" ballistic missile towards the Mossad facility, which it blames for a recent wave of assassinations of Hezbollah commanders and thousands of explosions of communications devices used by its members, killing dozens.

The Israeli media, including the Times of Israel news website, quoted a military statement that claimed the Hezbollah missile was intercepted by the army's defense system David's Sling, a medium- to long-range interceptor, as it approached its target in the suburbs of Tel Aviv.

Sirens wailed in Tel Aviv and other towns in central Israel after the firing.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army announced that it struck a Hezbollah launcher in southern Lebanon, claiming the site was used for firing the missile towards Tel Aviv.

The Israeli army has launched waves of airstrikes in Lebanon since early Monday against what it called Hezbollah targets amid an escalation in warfare between the two sides.

The airstrikes have killed nearly 560 people, including 95 women and 50 children, and injured 1,835 others, according to Lebanese Health Minister Firas Abiad.