2024-08-28 05:10:33
Israel attacks targets in Lebanon and declares a state of emergency for 48 hours. Hezbollah responds with the counterattack that has been expected for weeks.
The Lebanese Hezbollah militia has begun its announced retaliatory attack on Israel. In a “first phase” of retaliation, it said it fired more than 320 rockets and sent drones into northern Israel. Eleven Israeli military facilities were reportedly hit. “Our military operation for today is complete,” the Iranian-backed militia announced. However, it will still take “some time” before the retaliatory attacks end.
According to Israeli media reports, 200 rockets and around 20 drones were fired from Lebanon at Israel. The Israeli missile defense system intercepted dozens of missiles. The militia’s information on the number of missiles fired from Israel could not initially be independently verified.
The Shiite militia, which is allied with Iran, said it was a response to the killing of high-ranking Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in the capital Beirut. Shukr was killed in an Israeli attack almost a month ago.
Immediately beforehand, the Israeli military had attacked dozens of Shiite militia positions in the neighboring country. According to the army, this was to forestall an immediate threat from Hezbollah. Security circles in Lebanon confirmed the Israeli attacks and said that Israel had attacked at least 40 targets in southern Lebanon. After more than an hour of bombardment, however, the situation seemed to have calmed down, they said.
Israeli warplanes attacked several areas of Lebanon, hitting electricity and water facilities, among other things, the state news agency NNA and security sources reported. They also flew near the southern coastal city of Tyre and attacked several villages in the south of the country.
According to official Lebanese reports, three people were killed in southern Lebanon. An Israeli drone attack hit a car in the village of Chiam and killed one person, the Lebanese news agency NNA quoted the Health Ministry in Beirut as saying. The militant Amal group, which is allied with Hezbollah, said a fighter from Chiam had been killed.
The Health Ministry later added that two people had also been killed in the village of Tiri in the Israeli attacks. The ministry did not say whether they were civilians or fighters. Initially, there had been talk of one dead and two injured.
According to military sources, around 100 fighter jets were involved. Thousands of launchers belonging to the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah were attacked and destroyed, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said in an X-post. Most of them were aimed at the north of Israel, but some were also aimed at the center.
Even after the Hezbollah attacks ended, Israel said it continued to attack positions in Lebanon.
The New York Times quoted a Western intelligence official as saying that Israel’s attack was directed against rocket launchers in Lebanon that had been programmed to fire toward Tel Aviv at 5 a.m. local time.
Israel also declared a nationwide state of emergency, which will be in effect from 6 a.m. local time (5 a.m. CEST) for the next 48 hours, said Defense Minister Joav Galant.
The Israeli military recently determined that Hezbollah was preparing to fire rockets into Israeli territory, army spokesman Hagari said early in the morning. Dozens of Israeli Air Force fighter planes are currently attacking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon “that pose an immediate threat to the citizens of the State of Israel.” This is an act of self-defense. Israel’s missile defense system, navy and air force are involved.