Just before five o’clock, Norwegian time, the Israeli military carried out what they called a pre-emptive strike against “terrorist targets in Lebanon”, after identifying that Hezbollah was “preparing to fire missiles and rockets at Israeli territory.” Just before six o’clock, the news agency reported that Hezbollah had carried out what it described as “the first phase of the response.” Hezbollah said it had fired more than 300 rockets, hitting 11 Israeli military targets. This has not been confirmed by Israel. A Hezbollah rocket is shot down over Israel. Photo: Jalaa Marey / AFP Hezbollah’s planned attack was a response to Israel killing the group’s military leader Fuad Shukr in Beirut on July 31, Reuters reports. Israel attacks targets in Lebanon Israel’s defense says about a hundred of its fighter jets have attacked and destroyed “thousands” of missile launch systems in southern Lebanon. They asked residents near these areas to “leave immediately” before the attack. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has declared a 48-hour state of emergency in Israel. They also feared that missiles and drones from Hezbollah would reach areas in the north of Israel, and the air traffic alert went off there. Daniel Hagari is a spokesperson for the IDF. Photo: GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP According to the Reuters news agency, a spokesperson for the IDF says that Hezbollah planned to hit targets in the north of Israel, but that they also had plans to hit targets in central Israel. – Israel attacked in self-defense The Israeli military (IDF) said it attacked southern Lebanon because it has discovered that the Iranian-backed group has been preparing for a “large-scale attack”. – In self-defense to remove these threats, the Israeli military is attacking targets in Lebanon, from where Hezbollah planned to attack Israeli civilians, said Admiral Daniel Hagari, spokesman for the IDF. Israeli rocket hits Lebanon Photo: Aziz Taher / Reuters US Defense Minister Lloyd Austin repeated early on Sunday Norwegian time that Israel has the right to defend itself against attacks from Iran and Iranian-backed groups. According to Reuters, he is said to have spoken to the defense minister in Israel. The security cabinet meets Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the security cabinet to a meeting at 07:00 Norwegian time. The Israeli security cabinet is meeting on Sunday morning. Photo: XINHUA According to the Reuters news agency, flights to and from Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv were delayed and diverted “due to the security situation”. Traffic at the airport is now underway again. The attacks from both sides should now be over. One person is said to have been killed in Lebanon. Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, says that the country does not want a full-scale war in the region. There have recently been fears that the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip will escalate into a regional conflict. In addition to the fact that Israel killed Hezbollah’s military leader Fuad Shukr in the air attack in Beirut on 31 July, the country is suspected of being behind the murder of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran. Published 25/08/2024, at 04.43 Updated 25/08/2024, at 08.32
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