Israel launched several preemptive airstrikes in against the Hezbollah militant group in southern Lebanon early Sunday, a move that could threaten to derail ceasefire talks in Gaza.
Hezbollah announced early Sunday morning that it had also launched its own attack on Israel with multiple drone strikes. The move comes after the Iran-backed group vowed revenge following for Israel’s assassination of a top commander late last month.
“We have conducted precise strikes in Lebanon in order to thwart an imminent threat against the citizens of Israel,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement. “We are closely following developments in Beirut, and we are determined to use all the means at our disposal in order to defend our citizens.”
Hezbollah said its attack involved more than 320 Katyusha rockets intended for multiple sites in Israel and a “large number” of drones.
The Israel Airports Authority briefly stopped all flights but flights resumed at 7 a.m. local time.
Hagari said early Sunday that “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.”
“We can see that Hezbollah is preparing to launch an extensive attack on Israel, while endangering the Lebanese civilians,” he added, without providing details. “We warn the civilians located in the areas where Hezbollah is operating to move out of harm’s way immediately for their own safety.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office posted photos of Netanyahu and Gallant overseeing the operation from the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv.
A National Security Council spokesperson told Fwrd Axis News that President Joe Biden, who is vacationing with his family in California, is “closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon” and “has been engaged with his national security team throughout the evening.”
