Israel Says It’s Bombing Lebanon to Thwart Hezbollah Attack
(Bloomberg) -- Israel declared a nationwide state of emergency after launching a pre-emptive attack on Hezbollah sites in south Lebanon as the Iran-backed militant group began what it said was its initial response to last month’s killing by Israel of its military chief.
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The Israeli military said scores of missiles and rockets had been fired and that it carried out precise attacks in south Lebanon against Hezbollah positions. The country’s main airport outside Tel Aviv was shut down for a few hours, with incoming flights directed toward neighboring states.
The attacks Sunday raise concerns that the near-daily trading of fire between Israel and Hezbollah for the past 10 months could escalate into a wider war that would likely drag the US and Iran into it.
Hezbollah said it has begun an attack on Israel in retaliation for the killing of its commander on July 30 in Beirut’s southern suburbs. The group said it fired more than 320 missiles and later drones to target 11 army barracks and military sites in northern Israel.
Israel has not yet confirmed the targets but sirens had been sounded several times in the north, where the military is limiting inside gatherings to 300 people, outside to 30. It said workplaces can operate normally if they’re inside and have bomb shelters that can be reached quickly.
Israel’s military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said Israel saw Hezbollah preparing to fire missiles and rockets and acted pre-emptively. Israel warned Lebanese civilians in the areas where Hezbollah operates to move out of harm’s way, he said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called a security cabinet meeting.
In Washington, a Pentagon spokesman, Pat Ryder, said, ‘We continue to closely monitor the situation and have been very clear that the US is postured to support the defense of Israel.” At the same time, he made clear that this is Israel’s operation, referring questions about it to the Israelis.
Israel and Hezbollah have been trading fire along the border since October when the Lebanese organization entered the fray in support of the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza. Israeli strikes have killed at least 500 people, most of them Hezbollah fighters. In Israel, roughly 30 soldiers and 18 civilians have been killed by Hezbollah attacks.
Preventing the skirmishes escalating even further has been at the heart of international diplomatic efforts to ease tension across the Middle East.
On July 30, an Israeli airstrike killed Hezbollah’s military chief Fuad Shukr in Beirut. Hours later, Iran blamed the Jewish state for killing the head of Hamas’ political office Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Iran has vowed to retaliate.
The US has been trying to mediate between Lebanon and Israel to reach a compromise over border disputes. Israel wants Hezbollah to move its fighters away from the border to allow its citizens to return to the north.
Hezbollah, backed by Iran and designated a terrorist organization by the US, says it will continue hostilities with Israel until the country agrees a cease-fire with Hamas in Gaza.
The war in the Palestinian enclave began on Oct.7 after Hamas militants, also supported by Iran, invaded Israel and killed 1,200 people and abducted others. Israel’s retaliation in Gaza has killed at least 40,000 people, according to health officials in Gaza, which is ruled by Hamas.
--With assistance from Omar Tamo and Nick Wadhams.
(Updates with Hezbollah’s statement, background)
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