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Israel launched a series of intense air strikes in southern Lebanon early Sunday in what it said was a preemptive strike against the Hezbollah militant group, threatening to trigger a broader region-wide war that could torpedo efforts to forge a ceasefire in Gaza, according to an AP report.
The army said Hezbollah was planning to launch a heavy barrage of rockets and missiles toward Israel. The Iranian-backed group had been promising to retaliate for Israel’s assassination of a top commander late last month.
Air raid sirens were reported throughout northern Israel, and Israel’s Ben-Gurion international airport began diverting incoming flights and delaying takeoffs. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday declared a 48-hour nationwide state of emergency.
Soon afterwards, Hezbollah announced it had launched an attack on Israel with a “large number of drones” as an initial response to the killing of Fouad Shukur, a top commander with the group, in a strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs last month, the AP report added.
Hezbollah said the attack was targeting “a qualitative Israeli military target that will be announced later” and “targeting a number of enemy sites and barracks and Iron Dome platforms.”
The attack came as Egypt hosts a new round of talks aimed at ending Israel’s war against Hamas, now in its 11th month. Hezbollah has said it will halt the fighting if there is a ceasefire.
Last week, Israel’s defense minister said he was moving more troops toward the Lebanese border in anticipation of possible fighting with the Iranian-backed group.
“In a self-defense act to remove these threats, the (Israeli military) is striking terror targets in Lebanon, from which Hezbollah was planning to launch their attacks on Israeli civilians,” Israel’s military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said early Sunday.
“We can see that Hezbollah is preparing to launch an extensive attack on Israel while endangering the Lebanese civilians,” he said without providing details. “We warn the civilians located in the areas where Hezbollah is operating to move out of harm’s way immediately for their safety.”
Lebanese media reported strikes in the country’s south without immediately providing more details. Meanwhile, social media footage showed what appeared to be strikes in southern Lebanon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he and his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, were managing the latest operation from military headquarters in Tel Aviv. Gallant declared a “special situation on the home front,” and Netanyahu’s Security Cabinet was set to meet later Sunday morning.
(With input from AP)
CGTN