Israel, Hezbollah exchange heavy fire in serious escalation

 

Israel said it carried out a wave of pre-emptive strikes in southern Lebanon to thwart a large-scale rocket and drone attack by Hezbollah.

The Israeli military said fighter jets destroyed thousands of rocket launchers from the Iran-backed armed group on Sunday morning. Hezbollah and its ally, the Amal movement, said three fighters were killed.

Hezbollah said it still managed to fire 320 rockets and drones at Israel in retaliation for the assassination of a high-ranking commander. The Israeli military said an Israeli navy soldier was killed.

The exchange marked a major escalation after 10 months of hostilities that had raised fears of all-out war.

Since the day after the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza began on October 7, there have been almost daily exchanges of fire along the Israel-Lebanon border.

Hezbollah has said it is acting in support of the Palestinian group, which is also backed by Iran. Both Hamas and Hezbollah are banned as terrorist organizations by Israel, the United Kingdom and other countries.

Since October, Lebanon’s Health Ministry has reported killing more than 560 people, most of them Hezbollah fighters, while in Israel 26 civilians and 23 soldiers have been killed, according to officials.

According to the United Nations, around 200,000 people have been displaced on both sides of the border.

The Israeli attack on Hezbollah, which occurred around 0430 (0130 GMT) on Sunday, was the largest since the full-scale war between the two groups in 2006.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that around 100 fighter jets “hit and destroyed thousands of Hezbollah rocket launchers” in more than 40 areas of southern Lebanon.

Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the strikes were launched after identifying “extensive preparations” for a large-scale air strike by Hezbollah.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that Israeli aircraft struck Beaufort Castle, the Bir Kalb area and the outskirts of the towns of Ain Qana, Kfar Fila, Louaizeh, Bsalia, Kfar Melki, Sajd and Sarba.

A resident of the town of Zibqeen said it “felt like the apocalypse.”

What is Hezbollah?

Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said one person was killed in a drone strike on a car in Khiam. The Amal movement said one of its fighters from the village was killed.

The ministry also said an Israeli attack on the village of Tiri killed two people. Hezbollah confirmed the deaths of two fighters from nearby Haris, without providing details.

“What happened today is not the end of the story,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting.

“Early this morning, Hezbollah attempted to attack the State of Israel with rockets and drones,” he added. “We ordered the IDF to carry out an intensive preemptive strike to remove the threat.”

In addition to destroying the short-range rockets, Netanyahu said the IDF had intercepted all the drones that Hezbollah had “launched against a strategic target in the center of the country.”

“[Sheikh Hassan] Nasrallah in Beirut and [Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei in Tehran must know that this is another step forward to change the situation in the north,” he warned Hezbollah and Iranian leaders.

Foreign Minister Israel Katz said he had told dozens of his counterparts around the world that Israel “does not seek a full-scale war” but would “do whatever is necessary to protect our citizens.”

Shortly after the Israeli attacks, Hezbollah claimed to have targeted and struck 11 Israeli military bases in Israel and the occupied Golan Heights with more than 320 Katyusha rockets.

The attack was described as a response to the assassination of high-ranking military commander Fuad Shukr, who was killed in an Israeli attack in Beirut on July 30.

The group said the operation had been “completed and brought to a close” and dismissed as “empty” Israel’s claims that its strikes on Sunday had thwarted a larger attack.

Video footage showed explosions in the sky as incoming rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system.

The IDF later announced that an Israeli Navy soldier “fell during combat in northern Israel,” without providing further details.

Israeli media reported that he was killed in an accident involving a Hezbollah drone and an Iron Dome interceptor near a patrol boat in Dvora, about 4 km from the Lebanese border.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech on Sunday evening that the group had targeted a military intelligence base about 110 km (68 miles) from Israeli territory, just 1.5 km (0.9 miles) from Tel Aviv.

According to a Reuters translation, Hezbollah managed to carry out the attack as planned and all drones were successfully launched and entered Israeli airspace.

He warned that the group will respond again if the results are deemed insufficient.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, whose government has little influence on Hezbollah, said he had “held a series of contacts with Lebanon’s friends to stop the escalation.”

He called for an end to “Israeli aggression” and the implementation of the UN Security Council resolution that ended the 2006 war.

Mr. Mikati also underlined Lebanon’s support for international efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza and a hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas.

The United States believes an agreement is crucial to easing tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border, as Hezbollah has said it will only end hostilities once fighting in Gaza ends.

The director of the Mossad and Israel’s internal security service Shin Bet landed in Egypt on Sunday afternoon to attend meetings with the director of the CIA and the prime minister of Qatar.

Credit: BBC

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