The airstrikes come just a day after Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, vowed revenge.
New Delhi: Israel on Thursday launched a series of airstrikes on southern Lebanon, one of the most intense bombardments seen since the start of cross-border hostilities with armed group Hezbollah on October 7.
Here are 10 points on this big news:
- The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that more than 100 rocket launchers prepared for imminent attacks on Israel were destroyed. These launchers, spread across Hezbollah bases in southern Lebanon, contained an estimated 1,000 rocket barrels. In addition, several Hezbollah buildings and a weapons depot were also targeted.
- The airstrikes come just a day after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed revenge for a series of unprecedented and deadly attacks against Hezbollah operatives. Speaking in his first public address following these attacks, Nasrallah accused Israel of blowing up communications equipment belonging to Hezbollah operatives across Lebanon, resulting in 37 deaths and nearly 3,000 injuries.
- Nasrallah described the attacks as a “massacre” and warned Israel of “harsh retaliation and appropriate punishment”. The Hezbollah chief claimed that Israel would be attacked wherever it expects and wherever it does not. During his speech, Israeli fighter jets roared over Beirut, breaking the sound barrier.
- Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Galant warned that the country was entering “a new phase of war”, indicating that the conflict, which was previously centered around Gaza, is now spreading to the northern border with Lebanon.
- Hezbollah, backed by Iran, has been a staunch ally of Hamas, the Palestinian group at the center of the war in Gaza, since an October 7 attack that killed more than 1,200 people in Israel, mostly civilians. The conflict has now turned into a regional confrontation, with Hezbollah launching daily attacks against Israeli communities along the northern border, prompting retaliatory strikes from the IDF.
- The exchange of fire between Israel and Hezbollah along the border led to mass evacuations, forcing thousands of civilians living on both sides of the border to flee their homes. Communities along Israel’s northern frontier are now subject to strict military guidelines, with residents instructed to stay close to bomb shelters, avoid large crowds and minimize movement outside.
- “In this new phase of the war, there are significant opportunities, but also significant risks,” Galant said. He said Hezbollah “feels persecuted” and the group will pay a “heavy price” for its aggression.
- Thursday’s airstrikes came after a massive Hezbollah rocket attack targeting Israel’s northern communities. In the Lebanese border town of Metula, damage was described as “tremendous”, with incoming rockets destroying homes and setting fires. Israeli emergency services reported there were no casualties.
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on all parties to exercise restraint, urging both Israel and Hezbollah to avoid actions that could further escalate the conflict. The Biden administration has struggled 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.
- Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib condemned the Israeli airstrikes, calling them “a blatant attack on Lebanon’s sovereignty and security”. He warned that the escalation threatened to trigger a wider regional conflict. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards vowed a “crushing response” to Israel’s actions.
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