On Sunday (25th August), Israel and Islamic terror group Hezbollah exchanged their “heaviest strikes” since the 7th October 2023 Hamas terror attacks on Israeli territories. In the early hours of the morning, Israel carried out what it described as pre-emptive strikes across Southern Lebanon to foil Hezbollah’s plan for a “large scale” attack on Central and Northern Israel.
👀 Not a good morning for Hezbollah pic.twitter.com/lkkUwbNFGS
— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) August 25, 2024
🛑BREAKING: In a self-defense act to remove Hezbollah’s threat, the IDF is striking targets in south Lebanon, from which the Iranian-backed Lebanese terror organization was planning to launch their attacks on Israeli civilians.
— Israel ישראל (@Israel) August 25, 2024
Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks are targeting… pic.twitter.com/BtuUAqtgsv
Following massive Israeli airstrikes on Sunday morning, Lebanon-based Hezbollah returned fire with a barrage of drones and rockets across the border. However, Israel said that it suffered “very little damage” because of the Hezbollah’s attacks. Nonetheless, the heavy exchanges across the Israel-Lebanon border mark an escalation in the Middle East conflict that had been feared in the aftermath of the 7th October terror attacks.
The recent escalation unfolded after hundreds of Israeli fighter jets struck several Hezbollah camps in Lebanon late at night on Saturday (24th August), as an act of “self-defence“. Israel said that its attack was a preemptive strike on “thousands” of Hezbollah rocket and missile systems. According to the Israeli Defence Forces, these sites were about to launch a major attack on Israeli targets.
Video of the drone interception over northern Israel. https://t.co/OxgjtmZm6l pic.twitter.com/sBTpc5nAy2
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) August 25, 2024
Incredible photos by AFP's Jalaa Marey of a Hezbollah drone being shot down over northern Israel. pic.twitter.com/3gs79tlT79
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) August 25, 2024
The Israeli airstrikes struck sites across the outskirts of almost 30 small towns in southern Lebanon, damaging electricity and water infrastructure, the Washington Post reported citing state-run Israeli media. The Israel Defense Forces said that it struck additional Hezbollah targets later on Sunday.
Immediately after the Israeli airstrikes, Hezbollah said it had launched 320 Katyusha rockets (the terror outfit’s primary weapon against Israel) to target 11 Israeli military bases and barracks.
The Shia terror outfit described the retaliatory strikes as “phase one” of a multi-stage attack saying that it was the revenge for the killing of Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur last month. Hezbollah alleged that he was killed in an Israeli strike in Lebanon’s capital, Beirut. Israel had blamed Shukur for the killing of 12 children in a rocket attack in the occupied Golan Heights. However, it did not comment on the Shukur killing.
Hezbollah also dismissed the Israeli military’s statement that their strikes on Sunday thwarted a larger attack. Meanwhile, Hezbollah’s secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, will deliver a speech later in the day to address the recent hostilities with Israel, the group announced earlier today. Later, the Hezbollah announced it had concluded its offensive.
Regarding Hezbollah’s retaliatory strikes, Israeli officials said that most of the barrage from Hezbollah was intercepted by air-defense systems. According to them, more than 150 rockets and drones were involved in the Hezbollah’s attack. They added that they were still assessing the damage but said that there were no immediate reports of injuries.
During a press briefing, IDF Spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said that they were still in a situation of the aftermath of the attack but claimed that there was, “very little damage.”
Furthermore, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israeli forces were “determined to do everything possible to defend our country”. He added, “Whoever harms us – we will harm them.”
Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that Israel was “acting to protect its citizens and territory” and “does not seek all-out war” in the Middle East.
Israel also stated that Lebanese civilians had been warned to immediately leave areas where Hezbollah was operating.
The ongoing hostilities in the Middle East: Israel-Hezbollah war
It is pertinent to note that there have been almost daily exchanges of fire across the Israel-Lebanon border since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in the wake of the 7th October Hamas terror attack. The Hamas terror attack killed over 1,200 civilians and soldiers in Israel and 250 individuals including Israeli and foreign nations were kidnapped and dragged to Gaza.
Following the 7th October terror attack, Iran-backed Shia terror outfit, Hezbollah joined Hamas, another Iran-backed Islamic terror outfit, in targeting and launching attacks on Israel. Strikingly, both Hamas and Hezbollah are proscribed as terrorist organisations by Israel, the UK, and several other countries.
However, tensions have been running high in the region in the wake of a series of assassinations that are believed to have been carried out by Israel. These include the killing of high-level officials in Lebanon and Iran, including Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur last month and then Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh.
Hezbollah had promised to avenge Shukr’s killing. Furthermore, Iran had also threatened to launch retaliatory attacks against Israel in the wake of Ismail Haniyeh’s killing in July. Haniyeh was visiting the city for the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian when he was killed. Hamas and Iranian officials had blamed Israel for the assassination, but Israel declined to comment on these operations.
Amidst the mounting tensions and apprehensions of an “all-out” war in the Middle East, the U.S. and its allies have been working to avoid a larger regional war in the region since the 7th October Hamas terror attack.
After substantially ‘dismantling’ Hamas, Israel goes after Hezbollah; details about the Shia terror outfit
Hezbollah is a Shia political party and militant organization which has been proscribed as a terror outfit by several countries for its involvement in terror activities and terror attacks in Israel and elsewhere. It was formed in the early 1980s when Lebanon was wracked by civil war. Its name means “Party of God.”
It was created with Iranian support and it has set a mission to expel Israeli forces from Lebanon while resisting Western influence in the Middle East region.
It brands itself as a Shia “resistance movement” within Lebanon that believes in the country’s right to self-determination. However, according to reports, it pledges its allegiance to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
The terror outfit’s current leader, Hassan Nasrallah, joined Hezbollah in 1982. Earlier, he was a member of the Amal Movement. It was a Shia militia that was one of the many groups vying for power during the Lebanese civil war. Incidentally, Hezbollah also has lawmakers sitting in the Lebanese parliament.
