Israeli Apache helicopters flew over Israel on Sunday.
Ariel Schalit/AP
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Ariel Schalit/AP
JERUSALEM – Israel launched a wave of airstrikes in southern Lebanon early Sunday in what it said was a pre-emptive attack on Hezbollah, as the militant group said it had launched hundreds of rockets and drones in retaliation for the killing of one of its last top commanders. month.
The heavy exchange of fire threatens to lead to an all-out war involving the United States, Iran and militant groups in the region. It could also torpedo efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza, where Israel has been at war with the Palestinian group Hamas, an ally of Hezbollah, for more than 10 months.
In the middle of the morning, it appears that the exchange has ended, with both sides having limited their attacks to military targets. But the situation remained tense, and the number of casualties and damage was not immediately known.
Israel’s military says Hezbollah plans to launch heavy rockets and missiles into Israel. Not long after, Hezbollah announced that it had launched an attack on Israeli military positions as an initial response to the killing of Fouad Shukur, one of its founders, in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last month.
The attack comes as Egypt hosts new talks to end the Israel-Hamas war. Hezbollah says it will end the war if there is a ceasefire in Gaza. Iran supports both groups as well as militants in Syria, Iraq and Yemen that could be involved in a larger conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking at the beginning of the Cabinet meeting, said the military had fired “thousands of rockets aimed at northern Israel” and urged citizens to comply with the directives of the Home Front Command.
“We are determined to do everything to defend our country, to return the residents of the north safely to their homes and to continue to uphold the simple rule: Who harms us – we will harm them,” he said.
Air raid sirens were reported throughout northern Israel, and Israel’s Ben-Gurion international airport was closed and flights diverted for about an hour due to the threat of an attack. Israel’s Home Front Command raised the alert level in northern Israel and encouraged people to stay near bomb shelters.
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesman, said that Hezbollah intends to attack targets in northern and central Israel. He said initial assessments found “little damage” in Israel, but the military remained on high alert. He said around 100 Israeli planes took part in Sunday’s attack.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health reported that two people were wounded in an Israeli attack in southern Lebanon. One of them, a 17-year-old Syrian, was hospitalized, civil defense officials said. Separately, a fighter for the Amal group, which is allied with Hezbollah, was killed in an attack on a car, Amal said.
Hezbollah said the attack involved more than 320 Katyusha rockets aimed at multiple sites in Israel and “a large number” of drones. It said the operation targeted “qualitative Israeli military targets that will be announced later” as well as “hostile sites and barracks and the Iron Dome (missile defense) platform.”
Hezbollah then announced the end of what it said was the first stage of a revenge attack, which it said would allow deeper attacks into Israel. But the next statement said “military operations for the day have ended.”
The group said all of the detonated drones launched hit their targets, without saying how many. It listed 11 bases, barracks, and military positions targeted in northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. It also rejected Israel’s claim that the preemptive strike had succeeded in repelling a more powerful Hezbollah attack.
Randa Slim, a senior fellow at the Washington, DC-based Middle East Institute, said Sunday morning’s exchange “is still within the rules of engagement and it is unlikely at this point that it will lead to an all-out war.”
In the US, National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said President Joe Biden was “closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon.”
“At his direction, senior US officials continue to communicate with their Israeli counterparts,” Savett added. “We will continue to support Israel’s right to defend itself, and we will continue to work for regional stability.”
The Pentagon said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Yoava Gallant, about Israel’s defense against Hezbollah. Austin “reaffirmed the ironclad commitment of the United States to defend Israel against any attack by Iran and its regional partners and proxies,” the statement said.
In recent weeks, diplomats from the US and European countries have made visits to Israel and Lebanon in an effort to de-escalate what they fear could turn into a regional war.
Last week, Israel’s defense minister said he would move more troops to the Lebanese border in anticipation of a possible war with Hezbollah.
Hezbollah began attacking Israel almost immediately after the start of the war in Gaza, which was triggered by Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel. Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged fire almost daily, displacing tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border. Until Sunday, both sides were careful not to get into a fight.
Hezbollah, which fought Israel until a stalemate in the summer of 2006, is believed to be stronger than it was during the conflict. The United States and Israel estimate that there are 150,000 rockets and that they could strike anywhere in Israel. The group has also developed drones capable of evading Israeli defenses as well as precision-guided munitions.
Israel has one of the world’s best militaries and an extensive multi-tier missile defense system, and is backed by a US-led coalition that helped shoot down hundreds of missiles and drones fired from Iran earlier this year. The US military has been building up its forces in the region in recent weeks.
Israel has vowed a crushing response in the event of an all-out war, one that would likely destroy critical civilian infrastructure, especially in southern Beirut and southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah’s main stronghold is located. A war is likely to urge hundreds of thousands of people on both sides.
Hezbollah is a close ally of Iran, which has also threatened to retaliate for the killing of senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in an explosion in Tehran last month that was widely blamed on Israel, which has not yet said it was involved.
