Israel on Sunday said its military had launched a series of airstrikes towards southern Lebanon in “a self-defence act”.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, the strikes came after it detected that Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah was planning to launch rockets and drones towards the Israeli territory.
Later in the day, Hezbollah announced it had launched an attack on Israeli military positions as an initial response to the killing of Fouad Shukur, a top military commander of the militant group.
Shukur was killed on July 30 in Israeli strikes on Beirut, following which, Hezbollah warned that “the warmongering and terrorist Zionist regime will receive harsh punishment in the suitable time, place, and capacity”.
Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged near-daily strikes for the past 10 months amid Tel Aviv’s war on the besieged Palestinian enclave of Gaza. Hezbollah is an ally of the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
However, the latest exchange of fire between Hezbollah and Israel is being seen as a significant escalation in the tensions in West Asia.
The strikes on Sunday killed at least three people in Lebanon, while there were no reports of casualties in Israel, reported the Associated Press.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported that two persons were killed and two others wounded in the strikes in southern Lebanon. Additionally, Amal, a group allied with Hezbollah, confirmed that one of its fighters was killed in a strike on a vehicle.
Hezbollah claimed it launched over 320 Katyusha rockets at 11 Israeli military bases and barracks, including the Meron base and four locations in the occupied Golan Heights.
Speaking at a Cabinet meeting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country’s military had eliminated “thousands of rockets that were aimed at northern Israel”.
“We are determined to do everything to defend our country, to return the residents of the north securely to their homes and to continue upholding a simple rule: Whoever harms us – we will harm them,” he said.
This comes against the backdrop of Egypt hosting high-level talks on Sunday to broker a ceasefire deal to end Israel’s war on Gaza that has been ongoing for over 10 months.
Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egypt’s chief intelligence official, Abbas Kamel were expected to attend the ceasefire talks. The head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, David Barnea, was also expected to be in attendance.
Hamas has sent a delegation to Cairo to receive briefings from Egyptian and Qatari mediators but is not participating directly in the negotiations.
Israel’s military offensive against Gaza began on October 7 after Hamas launched an incursion into southern Israel, killing 1,200 persons and taking over 200 hostages. Israel has been carrying out unprecedented air and ground strikes on Gaza since then. The attacks have killed at least 40,405 persons, including 16,500 children.
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