JerusalemThe Israeli army announced Sunday that it was carrying out preemptive strikes in Lebanon after detecting preparations by the Iran-backed Islamist group Hezbollah to launch “major attacks.”
Lebanese Hezbollah later confirmed it had fired “more than 320” Katyusha rockets at 11 military bases in Israel.
Following the announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced a meeting of the security cabinet at 7:00 a.m.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Ministry of Defense declared a 48-hour state of emergency throughout the country.
In a statement in Arabic, the armed forces warned residents in southern Lebanon that they were “monitoring Hezbollah’s preparations to carry out major attacks in Israeli territory near their homes… We are attacking and eliminating the threat from Hezbollah.”
He therefore asked the residents of the area to “withdraw immediately.”
“Anyone in areas close to where Hezbollah operates must withdraw immediately to protect themselves and their families,” the statement added.
“The IDF will do whatever is necessary to protect the citizens of Israel. We will update you with the latest developments in the coming hours,” he said.
Hezbollah said its attack on Israel was in response to the death of a senior Hezbollah military official in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on July 30, and that it included “more than 320” Katyusha rockets.
“The number of Katyusha rockets launched so far is more than 320 (…) towards enemy positions,” said the Lebanese Shiite movement.
He added that the rockets targeted 11 Israeli bases and barracks and that the “first phase was concluded with complete success.”
Afp Photo
Conflagration
As the conflict with Hezbollah escalates, the United States has reaffirmed that it will “continue to support Israel’s right to defend itself.”
At the direction of President Joe Biden, “senior U.S. officials have been in continuous communication with their Israeli counterparts,” National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement.
“We will continue to support Israel’s right to defend itself and work for regional stability,” Savett added.
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari, meanwhile, warned in a video of the launch of “rockets and possibly missiles and drones into Israeli territory.”
“From next to the houses of Lebanese civilians in southern Lebanon, we can see that Hezbollah is preparing to launch a major attack against Israel, endangering Lebanese civilians,” he urged them to “stay away from danger.”
“Hezbollah’s ongoing aggression risks dragging the people of Lebanon, the people of Israel and the entire region into a conflagration,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv announced the delay or diversion of flights scheduled for Sunday morning.
In a statement on its Instagram channel, the airport cited the security situation and asked travelers to check the status of their flight with the airlines.
The exchange of fire between Israel and Hezbollah has intensified since the outbreak of the war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
The conflict in Gaza began on October 7, when Hamas fighters attacked southern Israel, killing 1,199 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
They also took 251 hostages, of whom 105 remain in Gaza, including 34 who the Israeli military declared dead.
In response, Israel vowed to destroy Hamas and launched a vast retaliatory offensive that has already left at least 40,334 dead in Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, although it did not detail how many were civilians or combatants.
#Israel #announces #airstrikes #Lebanon #face #major #Hezbollah #attacks
– 2024-08-30 23:35:48
