Beirut.- The Israeli army said Saturday it was bombing southern Lebanon with “dozens of planes” from where the Islamist movement Hezbollah has increased its rocket fire against Israel in solidarity with Hamas, its Palestinian ally in Gaza, AFP reported.
“Over the past hour, we have launched a large-scale attack in southern Lebanon after identifying Hezbollah preparations to fire on Israeli territory,” army spokesman Daniel Hagari said in the evening, adding that “dozens of Air Force planes” were taking part in the operation.
Israel had previously said it had attacked “thousands of rocket launching platforms” in the area, “ready to be used.” The pro-Iranian movement Hezbollah announced that it had fired dozens of rockets at military positions in northern Israel, “around 90” according to the Israeli army.
Hezbollah, a powerful political and military player in Lebanon, opened a front on the border with Israel almost a year ago, after the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, in support of its Islamist ally Hamas, in power in that Palestinian territory.
Lebanon’s state news agency reported a large-scale bombardment in the south of the country, saying more than 50 strikes had taken place in just 40 minutes. On Saturday, the Israeli military said it had struck 180 targets in southern Lebanon in an hour, and Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, a military spokesman, told reporters that Israeli warplanes were striking “extensively” in the region. The Israeli bombings were far more intense than the limited exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah that have characterized much of the past year. The latest attacks came as the Israeli military ordered new restrictions on public gatherings in much of northern Israel.
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