Israel intensively and preemptively bombed southern Lebanon early Sunday morning, with more than 100 fighter jets to thwart an “imminent attack” by Hezbollah, and destroyed thousands of launchers targeting the north and center of the country; while the Shiite group managed to fire some 300 projectiles, the biggest escalation of war between the parties in almost two decades.
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“We identified extensive preparation by Hezbollah to fire on the Israeli home front. Following thorough identification, the Israeli Air Force and Northern Command began extensively and proactively attacking Hezbollah targets to eliminate threats targeting Israeli citizens,” confirmed Israeli Army spokesman Daniel Hagari.
Iran-aligned Hezbollah said it had launched more than 320 projectiles and drones at eleven Israeli barracks, as revenge for the assassination of its top military commander, Fuad Shukron July 30 in Beirut, a retaliation that “was completed and achieved by today.”
Three people confirmed dead
Israeli bombings have so far caused three deaths –One is a militant from the Shiite group Amal – in southern Lebanonwhere a speech by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is expected in the afternoon.
The Israeli army detected around 210 rockets and some 20 explosive drones launched by Hezbollah towards northern Israel, where some projectiles hit, causing slight damage, although most were intercepted.
Israeli authorities believe the Lebanese group was targeting the Gilot base near the central Mediterranean city of Herzliya, where several army intelligence units and the Mossad headquarters are located.
Although no serious incidents have occurred in Israel, the army’s home front command has raised the alert for the population in the regions of Galilee, the Beit She’am Valley, Haifa Bay, Mount Carmel, in general the entire northern half of Israel from the height of Tel Aviv, and also in the occupied Golan Heights, where “partial restrictions” have been imposed.
In general, the population has been asked to avoid gatherings, leisure activities and travel, and to stay close to shelters and bunkers.To that end, the city of Haifa, Israel’s third largest and the largest population center in the north of the country, opened municipal shelters.
The City Council of Tel Aviv also announced that it has opened 240 shelters and noted that underground parking lots can be used if necessary, in addition to cancelling leisure activities, beaches and cultural institutions, following the guidelines of the home front command.
Ben Gurion International Airport, located on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, resumed operations at 7:00 a.m. local time (4:00 GMT), after having been closed for an hour and a half while Israel carried out its “real-time self-defense” attack that began around 5:00 a.m. local time (2:00 GMT).
Netanyahu’s warning
Whoever hurts us, we will hurt him
“Whoever harms us, we will harm,” warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who led the operation early in the morning from the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, together with the Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi; and the Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, who declared a “state of military emergency” and maintained communication with his American counterpart, Lloyd Austin.
Following the attack, Netanyahu met with the security and government cabinets to discuss the next steps and a possible escalation of the war on the northern border.
Hezbollah sided with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in its war against Israel in October in Gaza, and since then, the exchange of fire on the border between Israel and Lebanon, the most serious since the 2006 conflict, has claimed the lives of more than 630 people, most of them on the Lebanese side and in the ranks of Hezbollah, which has confirmed some 400 casualties, but some 125 Lebanese civilians have also died.
In Israel, 49 people have been killed in the north: 23 soldiers and 26 civilians, including 12 minors, in the attack on the Druze town of Majdal Shams in the occupied Golan Heights at the end of July, which raised tensions.
The Israeli military killed Shukr three days later in retaliation, and a few hours later assassinated Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in an operation in Tehran, prompting both Iran and Hezbollah to vow revenge and threaten a massive military response against Israel, something that has reportedly materialized today and raises questions about a possible regional escalation.
EFE
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