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Israel’s military launched a wave of air strikes in southern Lebanon in the early hours of Sunday, in what it said was an attempt to foil an “extensive attack” on Israel by the militant group Hizbollah.
In a brief statement, the chief spokesman for Israel’s military, Daniel Hagari said Israel had identified preparations by Iranian-backed Hizbollah “to fire missiles and rockets towards Israeli territory”, and had struck “to remove these threats”.
“We can see that Hizbollah is preparing to launch an extensive attack on Israel,” he said. “We warn the civilians located in the areas where Hizbollah is operating, to move out of harm’s way immediately for their own safety.”
Soon afterwards, Hizbollah said that it had begun firing at Israel in retaliation for Israel’s assassination last month of Fuad Shukr, one of its most senior commanders, in an air strike in Beirut.
The killing of Shukr, which was followed the next day by the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s political leader, in Tehran, prompted both Hizbollah and Iran to pledge retaliation against Israel, fuelling fears that the region could be sliding towards an all-out conflict.
Israel’s military said that around 100 jets had been involved in its wave of attacks shortly before 05.00am local time, and that they had hit “thousands” of rocket launchers in more than 40 areas in southern Lebanon.
Hizbollah said it had “successfully” fired 320 Katyusha rockets towards 11 military targets in Israel’s north and the occupied Golan Heights, with the projectiles triggering air raid sirens across the area.
Hizbollah later announced the end of what it called “the first phase” of its response. It was the biggest exchange of fire between the militant group and Israel since they fought a 34-day war in 2006.
In Lebanon, the national news agency said Israeli strikes had hit a large number of targets in the south of the country, mostly in areas close to the border, but some struck deeper inland.
Images circulated in local media showed smoke rising above various wooded areas and some villages along the border, with some outlets reporting between 35 and 40 Israeli air strikes.
In Israel, Ben Gurion international airport in Tel Aviv briefly suspended flights before reopening. Israel’s paramedic service raised its alert status to its highest level across the country, but said that it had not received immediate reports of casualties.
The exchange of fire came as Egypt hosts the latest round of talks aimed at ending the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The US and Arab states see the talks to secure the release of Israeli hostages held in the strip and a ceasefire, as the best chance of preventing a full-on regional war.
US President Joe Biden was “closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon”, according to the White House.
Biden’s defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, spoke with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant late on Saturday night “to discuss Israel’s defence against Lebanese Hizbollah attacks”, the Pentagon said.
Washington has deployed additional warships and fighter jets to the region in recent weeks both as a deterrent to Hizbollah and Iran, and to help defend Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a security cabinet meeting at 7am local time, and Gallant declared a “special situation” across Israel, which gives him powers to restrict gatherings and limit access to certain areas.
Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, said that Israel was not seeking an “all-out war” and would act according to “developments on the ground.”
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