Israel attacks southern Lebanon, Hezbollah launches rockets at Israel
Israel says it attacked southern Lebanon to ‘preempt’ a
Hezbollah attack on northern Israeli towns.
Hezbollah says it has successfully completed the first phase
of a retaliatory attack on Israel in response to the killing of commander Fuad
Shukr at the end of July.
Earlier on Sunday, Israel said it had launched
airstrikes on southern Lebanon in a “preemptive” attack when it detected
Hezbollah’s preparation to attack northern Israel.
While Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging
tit-for-tat attacks across the border with some intensity since the start
of Israel’s war on Gaza in October, this marks a significant escalation.
Exchange of attacks
Hezbollah’s “response” was anticipated, coming as it is
weeks after targeted killings of senior commanders in Hezbollah and its ally
Hamas that were blamed on Israel.
The Lebanese group said it fired more than 320 Katyusha
rockets at 11 Israeli military bases and barracks, including the Meron base and
four sites in the occupied Golan Heights.
The two sides have been exchanging tit-for-tat attacks for
months, with Sunday’s attacks a marked escalation.
“Most of the Israeli strikes on Lebanon were in the border
area, up to 5km [3 miles] deep along the 120km [74-mile] border,” said Al
Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr, reporting from Lebanese town Marjayoun.
“The border area is now a military zone. It’s been evacuated
… It’s been repeatedly hit by the Israeli army in recent months.”
Israel says 100 of its jets bombed thousands of Hezbollah
launch sites in southern Lebanon half an hour before the planned Hezbollah
launch, to protect Israelis from the planned attack.
Lebanon’s NNA news agency reported one person was critically
injured in a later Israeli drone attack in Qasimia and an airstrike killed one
person in the town of Khiam.
Smoke rises from the southern Lebanese town of Khiam, amid
ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces
[Karamallah Daher/Reuters]
‘Special situation’
Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant declared a nationwide
“special situation” for 48 hours from 6am (03:00 GMT) on Sunday.
Israel’s Ben Gurion airport was temporarily closed in the
early hours of the morning, while reports emerged of some injuries in northern
Israel.
The Israeli army also announced a series of restrictions on
civilians in northern Israel and the Golan Heights.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was
“determined to do everything possible to defend” itself. “Whoever harms us – we
harm him,” he said.
Following the attacks, Al Jazeera’s Khodr said that while
Hezbollah is saying this is just the beginning of its promised retaliation,
there is no indication to suggest that a second phase is imminent.
“But the messaging from Israel since the early hours of the
morning is that the ball is now in Hezbollah’s court when it comes to further
escalation because we heard the Israeli military spokesman say at least three
times they acted in self-defence,” she said.
“This is, and has been, a very dangerous conflict, even
though largely contained, there is a real concern that it could expand and
spiral out of control.”
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‘Trying to avoid full-blown war’
The Israeli military says most of its attacks against
Hezbollah are in southern Lebanon for now, but it will strike anywhere where
there is a threat.
Global fears of an all-out regional conflict multiplied
after the assassination last month of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in
Tehran and of Shukr in Beirut, both blamed on Israel.
Israel’s attacks have “the potential to draw the whole
region into the full-blown war”, Sami Nader, director of the Levant Institute
for Strategic Affairs, told Al Jazeera although he feels that both sides will
try to avoid full-blown war.
Meanwhile, the United States said on Sunday it would “keep
supporting Israel’s right to defend itself”.
At President Joe Biden’s direction, “senior US officials
have been communicating continuously with their Israeli counterparts”, US
National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement.
Sunday’s attack came as Egypt is hosting a new round of
talks aimed at ending Israel’s war on Gaza, now in its 11th month. Hezbollah
has said it will halt the fighting if there is a ceasefire.
No diplomatic settlement, however, appears to be taking form
and “Israel is determined to change rules of engagement” that would allow a
return of all Israelis who were evacuated from northern Israel, said Nader.