Hezbollah launched a drone attack on Israel in retaliation for the killing of one of its commanders shortly after Israel launched pre-emptive airstrikes on Lebanon
Hezbollah launched a drone attack with more than 320 rockets on Israel in retaliation for the killing of one of its commanders in Beirut.
The Lebanese militant group launched the attack early on Sunday morning, shortly after Israel launched pre-emptive airstrikes targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Hezbollah said the attack was targeting “a qualitative Israeli military target that will be announced later”. It also said the drone attack “targeted a number of enemy sites and barracks and Iron Dome platforms.”
It said the strikes were an initial response to the killing of Fouad Shukur, a top commander with the group, in a strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs last month.
Hezbollah launched more than 320 rockets at Israel overnight
The Israeli military earlier announced its own strikes on Hezbollah sites in Lebanon, saying the militant group was preparing an attack on Israel. It claimed the airstrikes were “a self-defense act” against the group.
Irish soldiers on a UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon are “safe” following Israel’s strikes, it has been confirmed. Irish premier Simon Harris said the Government was monitoring the situation very closely and emphasized the importance of a “de-escalation in tensions” in the region as he revealed all soldiers were accounted for.
“Both our Defence Forces and Unifil headquarters are monitoring the wellbeing of our peacekeepers. We’ve been informed that they are all safe, they are secure and that they are accounted for and, of course, that’s important that we continue to monitor this,” he said.
The Israeli army said Hezbollah was planning to launch a heavy barrage of rockets and missiles toward Israel. Air raid sirens were reported throughout northern Israel and Israel’s Ben-Gurion international airport began diverting incoming flights and delaying takeoffs.
Israeli army spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the airstrike pre-empted an attack from Hezbollah (
AFP via Getty Images)
The Israeli military accused Hezbollah of “preparing to file missiles and rockets toward Israeli territory” early on Sunday morning.
Israeli military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said: “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 warned Hezbollah would “soon fire rockets, and possibly missiles and drones” into Israel. Hagari said: “We can see that Hezbollah is preparing to launch an extensive attack on Israel, while endangering the Lebanese civilians. We warn the civilians located in the areas where Hezbollah is operating to move out of harm’s way immediately for their own safety.”
Fears have been high in recent weeks that the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip could escalate into a regional conflict after an Israeli strike killed a senior Hezbollah commander and a suspected Israeli assassination operation in Iran killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he and his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, are managing the latest operation from military headquarters in Tel Aviv. Gallant declared a “special situation on the home front”.
The attacks come as Egypt hosts a new round of talks aimed at ending Israel’s war against Hamas. Hezbollah previously said it will stop the fighting if there is a ceasefire.
US President Joe Biden is “closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon, spokesman for the National Security Council, Sean Savett, said.
Savett said: “At his direction, senior US officials have been communicating continuously with their Israeli counterparts,” Savett said. “We will keep supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, and we will keep working for regional stability.”
