The Israel Air Force attacked targets in Lebanon overnight, in response to signs that Shi’ite terrorist organization Hezbollah was about to launch a missile and UAV attack on Israel. In an update early this morning, IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said, "A short time ago we identified preparations by Hezbollah to launch missiles and rockets at the Sate of Israel. Following this, we are attacking on our own initiative in order to remove the threat to Israel’s citizens. Israel Air Force aircraft are now attacking terrorist targets in Lebanon from which we have identified that Hezbollah was gearing up to launch threats at our territory."
Hagari warned that in the coming hours Hezbollah would launch rockets, and possibly missiles and UAVs, at Israel, and urged Israelis to pay attention to instructions from the Home Front Command. He also called on Lebanese near Hezbollah installations to move away.
Hezbollah has announced that its operation has been completed and that its leader Hassan Nasrallah would speak later today. "All our UAVs crossed the border on their way to their target on several paths, and with that our military operation has been completed for today. The enemy’s claims of a pre-emptive strike are empty and contradict the facts on the ground, and they will be refuted in a speech by Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah later today," a Hezbollah statement said. A Hezbollah spokesperson told the Qatar-based television channel Al Araby: "We attacked two major targets in north Tel Aviv that we will report later." No such attacks have been reported from the Israeli side.
Shortly after 5 am this morning, Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport was closed, but it has since reopened. Air raid sirens have been sounded in many northern Israel settlements, and the IDF reports that dozes of rockets have been fired from Lebanon at the Western Galilee. So far, no casualties have been reported. The IDF estimates that the pre-emptive strike prevented the launch of about 6,000 rockets and UAVs at Israel. News agencies in Lebanon report that the Israeli attack was "the most violent" since the current round of fighting began. Two people have reportedly been hurt and severe damage to infrastructure is also reported.
Hezbollah says that its attacks on Israel are in response to the killing of a senior commander in the organization, Fuad Shukr. Shukr was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on July 30. He was allegedly responsible the rocket fire at the Druse town of Majdal Shams on the Golan Heights three days earlier, which killed 12 children.
An Israeli diplomatic source stated: "This is not an opening attack in a war, but the removal of a heavy threat to millions of citizens of Israel. Further escalation will depend on how Hezbollah acts."
Israel is reported to have notified the US administration before carrying out last night’s pre-emptive strike, and Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant is in touch with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin. US miliary intelligence reportedly assessed that a large Hezbollah attack on Israel was imminent.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on August 25, 2024.
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