(Jerusalem) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Sunday that Israel had not said “its last word” with its dawn strikes on southern Lebanon to foil a major attack by the Shiite movement Hezbollah.
“Three weeks ago we eliminated his commander in chief [du Hezbollah] and today we have foiled his plan of attack,” Netanyahu hammered home at the start of the Council of Ministers, according to his office, after the attack that Hezbollah carried out in response to the assassination of one of its senior military leaders, Fouad Chokr, killed in an Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut on July 30.
“In addition, the army intercepted all the drones that Hezbollah had launched on a strategic target in central Israel,” he added, without saying more about this target.
Israeli media reports say it is the headquarters of Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence service, near Tel Aviv.
Damage
The Israeli army announced on Sunday the death of a marine soldier in the north of the country, after a dawn attack by Lebanese Hezbollah.
“Petty Officer David-Moshe Ben-Shitrit, 21, fell in combat in northern Israel,” the army said in a statement, adding that two other soldiers were wounded.
According to “a preliminary investigation”, the three soldiers were hit “directly by an Iron Dome interception projectile or by a fragment of this projectile accidentally falling on a fast patrol boat after intercepting a drone”, a military official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The Israeli military also reported “minor damage,” including fires. Israeli authorities declared a 48-hour state of emergency across the country before lifting most restrictions.
PHOTO AMMAR AWAD, REUTERS
A residential building was damaged after Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones toward Israel on August 25 in the northern city of Acre.
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.
PHOTO JALAA MAREY, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
This photo taken from a position in northern Israel shows a Hezbollah drone intercepted by the Israeli Air Force over northern Israel on August 25.
“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.
PHOTO JALAA MAREY, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
A Hezbollah drone over northern Israel on August 25.
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”, several of which were 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.
PHOTO JALAA MAREY, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
This photo taken from a position in northern Israel shows an Israeli Air Force fighter jet firing flares as it flies to intercept a hostile aircraft launched from Lebanon over the border area with southern Lebanon, August 25.
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 past 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 provide details on 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.