Hezbollah launches massive rocket attack on Israel in retaliation

Lebanese Hezbollah announced on Sunday morning that it launched a large-scale attack on Israel. A state of emergency has been declared in Israel. Recordings have appeared online, capturing the moment of the shelling.

Hezbollah stated that it struck eleven Israeli military targets, launching over 320 Katyusha rockets. The attack was said to be in response to the death of a high-ranking military commander, killed on July 30th in an Israeli attack on Beirut.

The Israeli Ministry of Defense has declared a state of emergency nationwide for the next 48 hours. On Sunday morning, the army reported that it would conduct preemptive strikes in Lebanon.

"In a self-defense act to remove these threats, the IDF is striking terror targets in Lebanon," said army spokesman Daniel Hagari in a statement. Israel has communicated that Lebanese civilians were warned to leave areas where Hezbollah was operational immediately.

"This is not an attack aimed at starting a war, but rather removing a serious threat to millions of Israeli citizens," reports the "Times of Israel," citing an anonymous government source. "The continuation of the escalation depends on Hezbollah’s actions," the source added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he is convening an urgent meeting of his security cabinet.

White House National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said that U.S. President Joe Biden is "closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon."

Many recordings have also appeared online showing rockets being fired towards Israel.

Here is another recording captured at dawn:

At this moment, there is no information about any casualties or injuries.