Israel says it foiled large-scale Hezbollah attack

(Jerusalem) Israel claimed to have foiled a large-scale Hezbollah attack early Sunday with multiple strikes in Lebanon, but the Lebanese movement claimed to have launched hundreds of drones and rockets into its territory to avenge the death of one of its leaders.

The Israeli military did not report any casualties in the Hezbollah fire and spoke of “minor damage” including fires. Israeli authorities declared a 48-hour state of emergency across the country before lifting most restrictions.

As US President Joe Biden “closely follows events”, the Pentagon has affirmed that the United States is “ready to support” the defense of Israel, its ally.

Armed and financed by Iran, Israel’s sworn enemy, Hezbollah had threatened Israel, Lebanon’s neighbor, with a response after the death of one of its military leaders Fouad Chokr, killed on July 30 in an Israeli strike near Beirut.

Hezbollah, along with Iran and the Palestinian Hamas, have also threatened to respond to the assassination, attributed to Israel, of former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31.

Engaged in a war against Israel in Gaza for more than ten months, triggered by its unprecedented attack on October 7 on Israeli soil, the Palestinian Islamist movement welcomed Hezbollah’s “strong response” against Israel.

Following intelligence reports of Hezbollah attack preparations, the Israeli Air Force launched “shortly before 5 a.m. [22 h heure de l’Est] “A complex operation in which about 100 aircraft struck thousands of rocket launchers aimed at northern Israel in 40 firing zones in southern Lebanon,” said military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani.

“First phase” of the response

The Hezbollah attacks were part of a “planned, larger attack and we were able to foil a good part of it,” he said.

The Israeli operation was launched to “eliminate threats targeting Israeli citizens,” the military said.

Hezbollah, whose leader Hassan Nasrallah is scheduled to speak at 11 a.m. ET, denied Israel’s statements “concerning the preventive action carried out” by its army and “the failure of the resistance attack.”

In a statement, he said he had launched “a large number of drones” into Israeli territory and fired “more than 320” Katyusha rockets at 11 military bases in Israel and the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan.

Sunday’s attack “ended successfully,” Hezbollah said, describing it as the “first phase” of the response to the assassination of Fouad Shokr.

The Israeli army did not immediately report any military positions hit. According to it, Hezbollah fired “more than 150 projectiles” including several intercepted.

Three dead in Lebanon

In southern Lebanon, authorities reported three deaths in Israeli strikes.

The UN in Lebanon has called on both sides to “cease fire”.

After this escalation, dozens of flights were canceled at Tel Aviv and Beirut airports, and others were delayed. Air France said it had suspended its flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut until Monday “at least.”

For weeks, the international community has said it fears a regional military escalation between Iran and its allies on the one hand and Israel on the other, at a time when the war in Gaza continues.

At the beginning of this war, Hezbollah opened a front against Israel, in “support” of Hamas and since then the border between the two countries has been caught in a spiral of violence.

“War of extermination”

Against this explosive backdrop, Mr Netanyahu’s spokesman told AFP that the decision whether or not to send a delegation to Cairo to continue negotiations on a truce in Gaza would be taken later in the day.

A new round of talks began Thursday in the Egyptian capital, attended by Israeli intelligence chiefs, CIA Director William Burns, and Egyptian and Qatari intelligence chiefs. It was to continue Sunday.

Hamas is not participating in the negotiations, which come after months of fruitless talks.

The October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,199 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official data. That day, 251 people were also kidnapped: 105 are still being held in Gaza, including 34 declared dead by the army.

The Israeli retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed at least 40,405 people, including 71 in the last 24 hours, according to the Hamas government’s health ministry. It has caused a humanitarian and health disaster and displaced 90% of the besieged territory’s 2.4 million people, according to the UN.

The ministry did not give details of the number of civilians and combatants killed, but according to the UN, most were women and children.

On Sunday, Israeli strikes left three dead in Gaza City (North) and fighting broke out between the army and Hamas in Deir al-Balah (Center), according to rescuers.

“Stop the war! This is not an ordinary war. This is not a battle between two armies, but a war of extermination,” said Mohammed Abou Aoun, a resident of Deir al-Balah.