In a significant escalation of tensions, Hezbollah launched a massive attack on Israel early Sunday morning, firing hundreds of rockets and drones at Israeli targets. Israel responded with a swift and powerful air offensive, deploying around 100 jets to strike over 40 Hezbollah launch sites in southern Lebanon. This exchange of fire marks one of the most intense clashes between the two adversaries in over ten months of border warfare, raising concerns of a wider regional conflict.
The attack began before dawn, with missiles visible against the morning sky as air raid sirens blared across Israel. Explosions were reported in several areas, while smoke rose from houses in Khiam, a town in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack, stating it had fired 320 Katyusha rockets towards Israel, targeting 11 military installations. The group called this the first phase of retaliation for the assassination of Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commander, by Israel last month.
Israel’s military, however, insisted that it had preemptively struck Hezbollah launch sites to thwart a much larger attack. The airstrikes were aimed primarily at northern Israel, but also targeted some central areas, destroying thousands of launcher barrels. Hezbollah disputed Israel’s claim, asserting that it had successfully launched its drones as planned and that the remaining elements of its response to Shukr’s killing would unfold “over time.”
The attack triggered a state of emergency in Israel. Flights to and from Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv were briefly suspended, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the country’s resolve to defend itself. “We are determined to do everything possible to defend our country, to return the residents of the north safely to their homes and to continue to uphold a simple rule: Whoever harms us – we harm him,” Netanyahu stated.
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati convened a meeting of cabinet ministers to address the situation. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is scheduled to address the nation later Sunday. The United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon and the U.N.’s special coordinator’s office issued a joint call for a ceasefire, expressing deep concern over the escalating situation.
The recent escalation in tensions follows a series of events that have fueled anxieties of a wider conflict. Last month, a missile strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights killed 12 children, prompting Israel’s targeted assassination of Shukr in Beirut. Hezbollah denied responsibility for the Golan Heights attack, but the killing of Shukr was seen as a major provocation. Furthermore, the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran further heightened tensions, with Iran vowing retaliation against Israel.
The current clashes come as negotiators are engaged in Cairo to reach a ceasefire agreement in the ongoing Gaza conflict. The potential for a wider regional conflict involving Iran, Hezbollah, and Israel’s key ally, the United States, remains a significant concern as the situation unfolds.
