Pressmediaofindia
Related Articles
25-08-2024
JERUSALEM/ GAZA CITY: Hezbollah says it has fired more than 320 rockets towards Israel targeting 11 military sites in the northern part of the country.
The group says it is beginning a “large-scale” operation and has sent drones as well as Katyusha rockets towards Israel.
Israel’s military says it has conducted pre-emptive strikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon after detecting plans to launch an extensive attack.
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has declared a 48-hour state of emergency across Israel.
Tensions escalated sharply after Israel killed a Hezbollah commander in Beirut almost a month ago.
As media reported earlier, US President Joe Biden has directed officials to be in close communication with Israel over the unfolding events.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has spoken to his US counterpart Lloyd Austin, telling him Israel had “conducted precise strikes in Lebanon in order to thwart an imminent threat” against its citizens.
The two officials discussed the importance of avoiding a regional escalation, according to a statement from Israel’s ministry of defence but it added that Gallant also emphasised that Israel would “use all the means at its disposal to remove imminent threats” and was “prepared to deploy defensive and offensive means”.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz, meanwhile, has written to dozens of foreign ministers urging support for Israel against Hezbollah, Iran, and its proxies.
He said Israel was acting in self-defence and was not interested in an all-out war.
IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari says Israel has “identified extensive preparation” by Hezbollah to “fire toward” Israel which it says was going to be aimed at its citizens.
“We are removing threats against the Israeli home front,” Hagari says adding that dozens of military jets are currently “striking targets in various locations in southern Lebanon”.
He adds: “We are continuing to remove threats, and to intensively strike against the Hezbollah terrorist organization.”
Israel Defense Force (IDF) says it has launched strikes inside Lebanon in what it is describing as a pre-emptive move after saying Hezbollah was preparing to fire rockets towards Israel
Hezbollah confirmed it has started “phase one” of an attack on Israel, beginning with a wave of hundreds of rockets and drones in response to the killing of its top commander Fuad Shukr on 30 July
Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has declared a state of emergency for the next 48 hours – this means restrictions can be issued on civilian movement
Elsewhere, flights to and from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport were temporarily suspended earlier on Sunday morning but have since been reinstated
The US has doubled down on its support for Israel, with the Pentagon and US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin reaffirming Washington’s commitment to Israel’s defence
This appears to be a significant and ongoing escalation.
Overnight Israel’s military says it carried out strikes in southern Lebanon.
It said it was targeting what it called the Hezbollah terror organization preparing to fire missiles and rockets across the border. Media is reporting this included an attack on Tel Aviv. In a statement Hezbollah said it had begun its response to the Israeli assassination of a senior commander Fuad Shukr last month.
Israel’s military has warned there will likely be more Hezbollah attacks in the coming hours and air raid sirens have been sounding across the north. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
