Escalating conflict:
In a preemptive move early on Sunday morning, almost 100 Israeli Air Force (IAF) fighter jets simultaneously attacked thousands of Hezbollah rocket launchers.
In an effort to neutralize threats and stop a significant attack on northern and central Israel, the Israeli military launched these strikes against more than 40 Hezbollah launch sites in southern Lebanon.
100 Israeli fighter jets
The recent missile attacks and targeted killings have raised tensions in the area, which has led to this most recent escalation. “Thousands of Hezbollah rocket launcher barrels that were located and embedded in southern Lebanon were struck and destroyed by approximately 100 Israeli Air Force fighter jets,” the Israeli military said in a statement. “Some of these launchers were aimed toward central Israel, and the majority were toward northern Israel.”
UAVs and 320 Katyusha missiles
The majority of the missiles and UAVs fired by Hezbollah were fired at northern Israel subsequent to Israel’s initial onslaught. According to Hezbollah, it has attacked 11 military locations in Israel using over 320 Katyusha rockets and drones. It declared that the barrage had finished “the first phase” of its reaction to Israel’s killing of senior commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut last month, but that the entire response would require “some time.”
Tensions in the Middle East
Escalating conflict
“Mitra Shakti,” a regional military drill between India and Sri Lanka, has concluded.
The assault on Hezbollah coincided with increased anticipation of a worsening of hostilities between the two groups following a missile strike in the Golan Heights that killed twelve children last month, and the Israeli military’s subsequent assassination of Fuad Shukr.
After Hezbollah and Iran threatened to retaliate against an Israeli strike in Beirut and the killing of Hamas’s senior leader in Tehran, the Middle East has been on edge for weeks. Since October 7, when Hamas launched its onslaught, Hezbollah and Israel have been fighting each other in gunfights. There are still concerns about a wider regional conflict, and the situation is unstable.
In southern Lebanon, over 40 Hezbollah launch locations were hit by almost 100 Israeli jets, according to the Israeli military. The attacks, which took place just before the Hezbollah attack, destroyed thousands of rocket launcher barrels that were mostly aimed toward northern Israel, while some of them also targeted the central areas.
Escalating conflict: That being said, Hezbollah asserted that it had struck 11 military targets in Israel with over 320 Katyusha rockets and drones. In reaction to senior commander Fuad Shukr’s assassination in Beirut last month, the group said that this onslaught was “the first phase” of its reprisal, with the full response to come later.
Israel’s claim of preemptive strikes was rejected by Hezbollah, which nevertheless issued a statement confirming the success of its day’s military action.
After a missile strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights last month that claimed the lives of twelve youngsters and Israel’s subsequent assassination of Shukr in Beirut, tensions between the two sides have been running high.
The subject was discussed at a cabinet meeting called by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at seven in the morning. Israel’s dedication to safeguarding its territory and guaranteeing the security of its citizens living in the north was stated by Netanyahu.
“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,” declared the president.
While Israel will react to events on the ground, Foreign Minister Israel Katz made it clear that his country did not intend to engage in a full-scale conflict.
A representative for the Israeli military said that although the majority of the Israeli strikes were directed at southern Lebanon, the military was nevertheless ready to counter threats wherever.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant issued a proclamation of emergency due to the worsening situation. Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv saw a brief 90-minute suspension of flights, but the airport management anticipated that operations will return to normal by 7 a.m.