Israel launched a series of intense airstrikes in southern Lebanon early Sunday in what it said was a pre-emptive strike against the Hezbollah militant group, threatening to trigger a broader regionwide war that could torpedo efforts to forge a cease-fire in Gaza. Hezbollah later announced early Sunday that it had launched an attack on Israel with a large number of drones.
The Israeli army said Hezbollah had been planning to launch a heavy barrage of rockets and missiles toward Israel. The Iranian-backed group has been promising to retaliate for Israel’s assassination of a top commander late last month.
“We have conducted precise strikes in Lebanon in order to thwart an imminent threat against the citizens of Israel,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement. “We are closely following developments in Beirut, and we are determined to use all the means at our disposal in order to defend our citizens.”
Hezbollah said Sunday its attack was targeting “a qualitative Israeli military target that will be announced later” as well as “targeting a number of enemy sites and barracks and Iron Dome platforms.” It said the strikes were an initial response to the killing of Fuad Shukr, a top commander with the group.
In an earlier statement, Israeli military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, accused Hezbollah of “preparing to file missiles and rockets toward Israeli territory.”
“In a self-defense act to remove these threats, the (Israeli military) is striking terror targets in Lebanon, from which Hezbollah was planning to launch their attacks on Israeli civilians,” Hagari said, warning that “Hezbollah will soon fire rockets, and possibly missiles and UAVs, towards Israeli territory.” Sirens sounded in northern Israel soon after the warning.
The Israel Airports Authority reported that it had temporarily suspended flights in and out of Ben Gurion International Airport. Flights that were already en route to Ben Gurion were being diverted to other airports.
Lebanese media reported strikes in the country’s south without immediately providing more details. Social media footage showed what appeared to be strikes in southern Lebanon.
ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images
In his statement, Hagari said, “We can see that Hezbollah is preparing to launch an extensive attack on Israel, while endangering the Lebanese civilians.”
Hagari didn’t provide additional details on the intelligence he cited.
“We warn the civilians located in the areas where Hezbollah is operating to move out of harm’s way immediately for their own safety,” he said.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted photos of Netanyahu and Gallant overseeing the operation from the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv.
Gallant’s office also said in a statement that he had issued an emergency declaration for Israel that would enable Israel Defense Forces “to issue instructions to the citizens of Israel, including limiting gatherings and closing sites where it may be relevant.”
Gallant also said that he had spoken by phone to U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to brief him on the strikes.
The attack comes as delegations from the U.S., Israel, Qatar and Egypt are holding cease-fire talks in Cairo. A Hamas delegation was also expected to be in Cairo, but senior Hamas official Mahmoud Merdawy stressed to the Associated Press that the group will not take part directly in the Sunday talks, but instead will be briefed by Egypt and Qatar.
Fears have been high in recent weeks that the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip could escalate into a regional conflict after the Israeli strike which killed Hezbollah’s Fuad Shukr, and a suspected Israeli assassination operation in Iran killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Earlier this month, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said the U.S. was preparing for a possible attack by Iran and its proxies in retaliation for those assassinations.
The USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier equipped with F-35 fighter jets, and the USS Georgia, a guided missile submarine, were recently deployed to the Middle East in response.