Israel strikes Hezbollah, pre‑empts massive rocket attack

Israeli aviation destroyed thousands of Hezbollah rockets during a pre-emptive attack early Sunday morning, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reported. Hezbollah announced a massive attack on Israel in retaliation for the killing of one of its leaders from the Iran-backed movement.

"This morning we detected Hezbollah’s preparations to attack Israel. Together with the Minister of Defense and the Chief of Staff, we instructed the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) to act proactively to remove the threat," Netanyahu said before an extraordinary meeting of the Israeli Security Cabinet.

From that moment, the Israeli armed forces have been working intensively to eliminate the threat. Thousands of rockets aimed at the northern part of the country have been destroyed, and many other operations have been carried out, the Prime Minister emphasized. He added that the military "been acting vigorously to thwart the threats."

Netanyahu pointed out that Israel will do everything to defend itself and adhere to a simple principle: "whoever hurts us — we hurt him."

Shortly after news of the Israeli pre-emptive attack, Hezbollah announced it had fired over 320 Katyusha rockets and drones at 11 Israeli military bases in the northern part of the country.

The Israeli army reported that about 210 rockets and 20 Hezbollah drones flew over Israel. Some of the missiles were shot down, and many landed in open areas; some hit, causing injuries and damage, the army stated without providing further details.

One person was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the town of Khiam in southern Lebanon, local media reported.

The Israeli military announced that about 100 fighter jets participated in the pre-emptive strike, and most of the eliminated launchers were aimed at northern Israel. The American newspaper "The New York Times" reported that the Israelis also destroyed launchers prepared for an attack on Tel Aviv.

Sunday's strike was "the first phase" of the response to the assassination of Hezbollah military leader Fuad Shukr, Hezbollah stated. Shukr was killed on July 30 in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut. Since then, Hezbollah has repeatedly promised retaliation. A day after Shukr's death, a Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in a Tehran attack attributed to Israel. Iran also announced that it would retaliate against Israel.

Since the beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah has regularly shelled northern Israel, leading to counterattacks. More than 100,000 civilians from both sides of the border have been evacuated due to the threat. Nearly 600 people, mostly Hezbollah fighters, have been killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon, while almost 50 civilians and military personnel have died in Hezbollah's attacks on Israel.

The decades-long skirmishes between Hezbollah and Israel are considered proxy clashes in the context of the Iranian-Israeli conflict. The Shiite organization controlling southern Lebanon is one of Tehran's most important allies.