Israel launched what it called “preemptive” airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in the early hours of August 25 after it said it had identified plans for a major attack on its territory.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it believed an Iran-backed Lebanese armed group was preparing to fire missiles and rockets at Israel.
“In an act of self-defense to eliminate these threats, the IDF is striking terrorist targets in Lebanon from where Hezbollah planned to launch its attacks on Israeli civilians,” Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in an update shared on X.
The IDF later reported that Hezbollah fired more than 150 shells from Lebanon into Israeli territory.
It later added that 100 Israeli Air Force warplanes had “struck and eliminated thousands of Hezbollah rocket launchers” that had been fired into parts of Israel.
Hezbollah said it carried out the “first phase” of a planned attack on Israel in response to the killing of Fouad Shukr, one of the group’s top commanders, according to Lebanese media.
The group said it fired 320 Katyusha rockets and targeted 11 military sites. He added that he had finished his operations for the day.
Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Galant responded by declaring a 48-hour state of emergency throughout the country.
Fears of an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah have been mounting in recent months.
Gallant said on Sunday that Israel would seek to avoid “regional escalation” and that it would work with the United States “to ensure Israel’s defense as well as regional stability.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has since said that IS had “destroyed thousands of short-range rockets”.
“This is not the end of the story,” he said, adding that “Nasrallah in Beirut and Khamenei in Tehran should know that this is an additional step to change the situation in the north.”
Hassan Nasrallah is the Secretary General of Hezbollah, while Ali Khamenei is the Supreme Leader of Iran.