Israel says strikes on Hezbollah are in ‘self-defence’
Julian Borger
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are depicting their air strikes as a pre-emptive action in âself-defenceâ in the face of an imminent Hezbollah missile and rocket attack, and warned an âextensiveâ 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 harmâs way immediately for their own safety. Hezbollahâs ongoing aggression risks dragging the people of Lebanon, the people of Israel, and the whole region, into a wider escalation.
The scale of Israelâs response to any such attack will also help determine whether this escalation on its northern border can be contained or not.
Key events
Weâll just launched a full report on todayâs fighting between Israel and Hezbollah and the increasing risk of a regional war in the Middle East. Read it here:
One killed and at least four injured in Israeli strikes in Lebanon
William Christou reports:
A person was killed in an Israeli drone strike on a car in the town of Khiam in south Lebanon on Sunday morning, while at least four others were reported as injured in separate strikes, a medical source told the Guardian.
The source said they could not yet determine the identity of the deceased, explaining that first respondersâ movements were restricted due to the ongoing airstrikes and drone activity in south Lebanon.
More than 15 first responders have been killed in Lebanon since fighting began between Hezbollah and Israel in the wake of Hamasâs 7 October attack.
Israel carried out at least 40 airstrikes in south Lebanon in the early hours of Sunday morning in what it said was pre-emptive action against a coming Hezbollah attack. Hezbollah then launched a barrage of rockets and drones at Israel in retaliation for the killing of its top military commander, Fouad Shukur, a month earlier.
Israeli continued to carry out airstrikes in Lebanon through the morning as prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with his security cabinet.
Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said about 100 Israeli air force fighter jets were involved in attacking and destroying âthousandsâ of Hezbollah launch pads in southern Lebanon.
He said in a post on X (translated here from Hebrew):
Most of them were directed towards the north and some towards the centre of the country. Also, over 40 launch sites were attacked.
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××× ××, ×××ª×§×¤× ×××¢×× ×-40 ×ר××× ×©×××ר pic.twitter.com/zTAmG9GZsW
— ×××ר צ××´× ×× ××× ×××¨× – Daniel Hagari (@IDFSpokesperson) August 25, 2024
Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz has said Israel will respond to developments on the ground but does not seek a full-scale war, while defence minister Yoav Gallant said Israel would do whatever necessary to defend itself, Reuters reports.
Most of the Israeli strikes were hitting targets in southern Lebanon but the military was ready to strike anywhere there was a threat, an Israeli military spokesperson said.
As reported earlier, Gallant declared a 48-hour state of emergency, and flights to and from Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv were suspended for about 90 minutes, but the airports authority said normal operations were expected to resume by 7am.
In northern Israel, warning sirens sounded and multiple explosions were heard around several areas as Israelâs Iron Dome aerial defence system shot down rockets coming from southern Lebanon. Israelâs Magen David Adom ambulance service said it was on high alert all over the country.
The Israeli military issued civil defence instructions from central Israel to the north, limiting gatherings but authorising people to go to work as long as they were able to reach air raid shelters quickly. There were no casualties immediately reported in Israel, according to the ambulance service.
One injured as Israel continues strikes on Lebanon
William Christou reports:
Israel continued to carry out airstrikes in south Lebanon on Sunday morning, as Israeli officials vowed to target any areas from which Hezbollah was attacking it.
Warplanes flew low over border villages and launched at least three airstrikes as residents still in the south braced themselves for further attacks.
The strikes came off the back of a chain of Israeli bombings at dawn, which Israel labelled âpre-emptiveâ, as Hezbollah geared up to launch a wave of drone and rocket attacks. Despite Israelâs attack, Hezbollah said its operation was a âcomplete successâ, hitting 11 Israeli military sites and launching over 320 rockets, mostly concentrated in the upper Galilee region.
Hezbollah said its Sunday attack was in response to the assassination of its top military commander, Fouad Shukur, in Beirut nearly a month before.
Despite the wide-ranging Israeli strikes in south Lebanon, only one injury â a Syrian national who suffered light wounds in the town of Qasimiyeh, south Lebanon â was reported.
âMost of the strikes were in the valleys [away from populated areas], and besides the Syrian, we have no injuries,â a source within a first responder organisation that serves south Lebanon told the Guardian.
Hezbollah fighters are known to use the heavily forested areas of south Lebanon for cover as they carry out attacks against Israel.
Hezbollah said in a statement on Sunday that it would respond âharshlyâ if any civilians were harmed by Israel. The group said the âfirst phaseâ of its operation was finished but did not clarify if more attacks would be coming.
Hereâs a just-launched rundown on all the main points we know so far about todayâs cross-border fighting:
This photo has arrived of smoke rising from the southern Lebanese town of Khiam today amid the Israeli-Hezbollah hostilities. The shot is taken from Marjayoun, near the border with Israel.
Here are some aerial images of todayâs fighting.
Why has Hezbollah attacked Israel?
William Christou reports:
Hezbollahâs attack on Sunday morning comes after nearly a month of anticipation for the Iranian-backed groupâs promised retaliation for the killing of its top military commander, Fouad Shukur, by Israel on 30 July.
Shukur was a founding member of Hezbollah and its de-facto military chief of staff. He was the highest-ranking member of the Lebanese group killed since fighting between Israel and Hezbollah started in the aftermath of Hamasâs 7 October attack.
His assassination came after 12 children were killed by a missile strike in Majdal Shams, a town in the occupied Syrian Golan heights. Israel blamed Hezbollah for the strike â a claim the Lebanese group has denied.
Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah vowed there would be a âserious and effectiveâ retaliation for the assassination of Shukur in Beirut, but gave no hint where and how this attack would take place. The day after his killing, the late leader of Hamas, Ismayel Haniyeh, was assassinated in Tehran, prompting Iran to also pledge revenge against Israel.
US and Israeli officials have issued a series of warnings since early August that a likely-coordinated Hezbollah and Iranian response was imminent. An emergency round of Gaza ceasefire negotiations were convened in Cairo and Doha starting on 15 August, in large part to delay an anticipated attack by Iran and Hezbollah.
The talks have so far not made progress.
Julian Borger
US president Joe Biden is âclosely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanonâ, according to a spokesperson for the National Security Council, Sean Savett.
âAt his direction, senior US officials have been communicating continuously with their Israeli counterparts,â Savett said.
We will keep supporting Israelâs right to defend itself, and we will keep working for regional stability.
Israelâs Ben Gurion airport is expected to resume operations at 0400 GMT on Sunday, the airports authority said, lifting a suspension imposed in response to an attack from Hezbollah.
Reuters quoted the airport as saying: âAircraft that were diverted to alternative airports, including Ramon airport, will take off and head back to Ben Gurion airport.â