The airstrikes come just a day after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed revenge.
New Delhi:
Israel on Thursday launched a series of airstrikes on southern Lebanon, some of the heaviest since cross-border hostilities with the armed group Hezbollah began on October 7.
Here are 10 points about the big story:
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that more than 100 rocket launchers ready for imminent attacks on Israel had been destroyed. These launchers, spread across Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon, contained an estimated 1,000 rocket barrels. Several Hezbollah buildings and a weapons depot were also hit.
The airstrikes come just a day after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed revenge for what he described as a series of unprecedented and deadly attacks on Hezbollah operatives. In his first public speech since the attacks, Nasrallah accused Israel of detonating Hezbollah operatives' communications equipment across Lebanon, killing 37 and wounding nearly 3,000.
Nasrallah described the attacks as a “mass murder” and warned Israel of “harsh retaliation and just punishment.” The Hezbollah leader claimed that Israel would be hit where it expected and where it did not. During his speech, Israeli fighter jets roared over Beirut, breaking the sound barrier.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that the country was entering a “new phase of the war” as the conflict, previously centered around Gaza, spreads to the northern border with Lebanon.
Hezbollah, backed by Iran, is a staunch ally of Hamas, the Palestinian group at the center of the war in Gaza since the Oct. 7 attack that killed more than 1,200 people in Israel, mostly civilians. The conflict has now descended into a regional confrontation, with Hezbollah launching daily attacks on Israeli communities along the northern border, prompting IDF retaliation.
The exchange of fire between Israel and Hezbollah along the border has led to mass evacuations, forcing tens of thousands of civilians on both sides of the border to flee their homes. Communities along Israel’s northern front are now under strict military guidelines, with residents ordered to stay close to bomb shelters, avoid large gatherings and limit outdoor movement.
“In the new phase of the war, there are important opportunities, but also important risks,” Gallant said, adding that Hezbollah “feels persecuted” and that the group will continue to pay a “high price” for its aggression.
Thursday's airstrikes followed a massive rocket barrage by Hezbollah targeting Israel's northern communities. In Metula, a town along the Lebanese border, the damage was described as “huge,” with homes destroyed and fires sparked by the incoming rockets. Israeli emergency services reported no casualties.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on all sides to exercise restraint and urged both Israel and Hezbollah to avoid actions that could further escalate the conflict. The Biden administration has worked to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and now faces the additional challenge of preventing the conflict from spreading further across the Middle East.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib condemned the Israeli airstrikes, calling them a “flagrant attack on Lebanon's sovereignty and security.” He warned that the escalation risked sparking a broader regional conflict. Iran's Revolutionary Guards promised a “crushing response” to the Israeli actions.
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