Israel says strikes on Hezbollah are pre-emptive action
Julian Borger
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are depicting their air strikes as a pre-emptive action in the face of an imminent Hezbollah missile and rocket attack, and warned an “extensive” Hezbollah response is imminent. The all-important question now is whether the cycle of escalation can be contained before it becomes an all-out war.
The Israeli news agency Ynet cited reports from Lebanon saying the air force struck 40 targets, and that Hezbollah fired what it claimed were 150 rockets in sustained barrages into northern Israel. Israel is now braced for Hezbollah to use its longer-range missiles against Israeli cities further south.
The IDF spokesman, Daniel Hagari, said:
Hezbollah will soon fire rockets, and possibly missiles and UAVs [drones], towards Israeli territory.
From right next to the homes of Lebanese civilians in the South of Lebanon, we can see that Hezbollah is preparing to launch an extensive attack on Israel, while endangering 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. Hezbollah’s ongoing aggression risks dragging the people of Lebanon, the people of Israel, and the whole region, into a wider escalation.
The scale of Israel’s response to any such attack will also help determine whether this escalation on its northern border can be contained or not.
Key events
The Times of Israel is reporting that Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant has declared an emergency situation in Israel for the next 48 hours.
Gallant posted on X saying (in this translation from Hebrew):
Together with the Prime Minister in Karia – we are closely monitoring the IDF actions being taken to remove the various threats.
יחד עם ראש הממשלה בקריה – עוקבים מקרוב אחר פעולות צה״ל הנעשות להסרת האיומים השונים. pic.twitter.com/GER77ZJEZY
— יואב גלנט – Yoav Gallant (@yoavgallant) August 25, 2024
Hezbollah says it has begun attacking Israel
Hezbollah said it had begun an attack on Israel with a large number of drones and rockets in response for the killing of its top commander in a Beirut suburb last month.
The Iranian-backed, Lebanon-based group said on Sunday it targeted an identified “special military target” as well as Israel’s Iron Dome platforms and other sites but that the full response would take “some time”, Reuters reports.
Israel says strikes on Hezbollah are pre-emptive action
Julian Borger
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are depicting their air strikes as a pre-emptive action in the face of an imminent Hezbollah missile and rocket attack, and warned an “extensive” Hezbollah response is imminent. The all-important question now is whether the cycle of escalation can be contained before it becomes an all-out war.
The Israeli news agency Ynet cited reports from Lebanon saying the air force struck 40 targets, and that Hezbollah fired what it claimed were 150 rockets in sustained barrages into northern Israel. Israel is now braced for Hezbollah to use its longer-range missiles against Israeli cities further south.
The IDF spokesman, Daniel Hagari, said:
Hezbollah will soon fire rockets, and possibly missiles and UAVs [drones], towards Israeli territory.
From right next to the homes of Lebanese civilians in the South of Lebanon, we can see that Hezbollah is preparing to launch an extensive attack on Israel, while endangering 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. Hezbollah’s ongoing aggression risks dragging the people of Lebanon, the people of Israel, and the whole region, into a wider escalation.
The scale of Israel’s response to any such attack will also help determine whether this escalation on its northern border can be contained or not.
The Israel Defense Forces posted on X that Hezbollah “has just launched over 150 projectiles from Lebanon toward Israeli territory”.
Lebanese media reported strikes in the country’s south while social media footage showed what appeared to be strikes in southern Lebanon, the Associated Press reports.
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said Hezbollah would “soon fire rockets and possibly missiles” and drones into Israel.
Sirens began sounding in northern Israel soon after the warning, and additional sirens later joined in across the north.
Israel launched the airstrikes inside Lebanon early on Sunday that its military said targeted Hezbollah positions.
Opening summary
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the crisis in the Middle East. It is approaching 6.15am in Tel Aviv and Beirut.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it has launched strikes inside Lebanon after assessing that the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement was preparing to fire rockets and missiles towards Israel.
“The IDF identified the Hezbollah terrorist organisation preparing to fire missiles and rockets toward Israeli territory,” the IDF said in a statement. “In response to these threats, the IDF is striking terror targets in Lebanon.”
Flights to and from Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv were suspended, and Israel’s cabinet was to meet at 7am (4am GMT), Israeli media reported.
Hezbollah did not immediately comment on the strikes, which came amid heightened expectations of an escalation between the two sides since a missile strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights last month killed 12 youngsters and the Israeli military assassinated a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut in response.
The IDF said new civil defence instructions would be issued to the population shortly. It warned civilians in southern Lebanon to stay away from areas where Hezbollah operates.
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