Israel launched heavy strikes across Lebanon in what it claimed was a pre-emptive attack
Israel has launched a series of heavy air attacks across neighbouring Lebanon in what it claims is a pre-emptive strike against Hezbollah, which launched rockets and drones at Israel.
The Israeli military claimed the airstrikes were necessary because Hezbollah was planning to launch rockets and missiles at Israel. Hezbollah then announced it had launched a series of retaliatory attacks on Israeli military positions, in response to the killing of one of the group’s founders, Fouad Shukur, in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last month.
The exchanges threaten the possibility of an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon that could draw in other regional players like Iran and also the United States. Intensified hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah could also scupper ongoing efforts to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Hezbollah has said it will halt attacks on Israel if there is a ceasefire.
By mid-morning local time, Sunday, the Israeli and Hezbollah attacks appeared to have come to an end. The full extent of the damage is unknown, but it’s reported that both sides restricted their attacks to military targets.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military had eliminated “thousands of rockets that were aimed at northern Israel” and urged citizens to adhere to directives from the Home Front Command.
“We are determined to do everything to defend our country, to return the residents of the north securely to their homes and to continue upholding a simple rule: Whoever harms us — we will harm them.”
Hezbollah said its attack involved more than 300 Katysuah rockets and a “large number” of drones. It said the operation was targeting “a qualitative Israeli military target that will be announced later” and “enemy sites and barracks and Iron Dome platforms.”
Hezbollah initially claimed the attacks were merely the first stage of a broader attack that would strike deeper into Israel, but then released a statement which said that “military operations for today have been completed.
In the US, a spokesman for the National Security Council said President Joe Biden was “closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon.”
The Pentagon said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, and “reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s defense against any attacks by Iran and its regional partners and proxies.”
