JERUSALEM: Israel launched a wave of airstrikes across southern Lebanon early Sunday in what it said was a preemptive strike on Hezbollah, as the militant group said it had launched hundreds of rockets and drones to avenge the killing of one of its top commanders last month.
The heavy exchange of fire came amid mounting fears of an all-out war that could draw in the United States, Iran and its militant allies across the region.
The Israeli military said it struck because Hezbollah was planning to launch a heavy barrage of rockets and missiles toward Israel. Soon after, Hezbollah announced it had launched an attack on Israeli military positions as an initial response to the killing of Fouad Shukur, one of its founders, in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last month.
By mid-morning, it appeared that the exchange had ended, with both sides saying they had only aimed at military targets. At least three people were killed in the strikes on Lebanon, while there were no reports of casualties in Israel. The situation remained tense.
U.S. and Arab mediators have been trying to broker a cease-fire in the 10-month-old Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, hoping to head off a wider conflagration, and the attacks came as Egypt hosts a new round of talks. Hezbollah has said it will halt the fighting if there is a cease-fire in Gaza. Iran supports both groups as well as militants in Syria, Iraq and Yemen who might join any larger conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking at the start of a Cabinet meeting, said the military had eliminated “thousands of rockets that were aimed at northern Israel” and urged citizens to adhere to directives from the Home Front Command.
“We are determined to do everything to defend our country, to return the residents of the north securely to their homes and to continue upholding a simple rule: Whoever harms us — we will harm them,” he said.
