The Israel Defense Forces “proactively and broadly” struck Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon on Sunday morning after identifying the terror group’s plan to fire a barrage of missiles into Israel, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said.
In response to Israel’s preemptive strikes, Hezbollah claimed it launched 320 rockets and drones at Israel. Hezbollah said the operation, which is the “first phase” in the group’s retaliation against Israel for the killing of its most senior military commander Fuad Shukr, was a “complete success.” Sunday’s exchange was one of the largest between Israel and Hezbollah, the latter of which has professed military solidarity with Hamas, the terror group responsible for October 7 attacks against Israel.
“We are removing threats against the Israeli home front,” Hagari said. “Dozens of [Israeli Air Force] jets are currently striking targets in various locations in southern Lebanon. We are continuing to remove threats, and to intensively strike against the Hezbollah terrorist organization.”
Israeli military confirmed one death as a result of the strikes, Petty Officer First Class David Moshe Ben Shitrit, 21, and two other soldiers are hurt in moderate and light condition. The soldiers were on a patrol boat in northern Israel and are believed to have been hit by shrapnel from an Iron Dome interceptor.
The IDF said it tracked about 200 rockets fired from Lebanon, “targeting mostly the north, but they also had a few targets in central Israel that they were not able to carry out with our self defense operation this morning,” military spokesman Nadav Shoshani said. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that the terror attack “was not the end of the matter,” and pledged that he would “do everything to protect our country.”
President Joe Biden was briefed on the conflict and has directed U.S. security officials to monitor closely the situation in Israel.
“He has been engaged with his national security team throughout the evening. At his direction, senior US officials have been communicating continuously with their Israeli counterparts. We will keep supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, and we will keep working for regional stability,” National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement.
Israeli minister of defense Yoav Gallant briefed U.S. secretary of defense Lloyd Austin on the situation on Saturday evening, and, a Pentagon official said, Austin stated America’s “ironclad commitment to Israel’s defense against any attacks by Iran and its regional partners and proxies,” the New York Times reported.
“We have conducted precise strikes in Lebanon in order to thwart an imminent threat against the citizens of Israel,” Gallant said.
A delegation of leaders from Israel, the U.S., Qatar, and Egypt, are slated to discuss advancing a possible Gaza cease-fire deal on Sunday evening in Cairo.