Israel and Hezbollah trade heavy fire before pulling back

(AP) — Israel launched a wave of airstrikes across southern Lebanon early Sunday in what it called a preemptive strike to avert a large Hezbollah rocket and missile attack.

The militant group said it fired hundreds of rockets and drones to avenge the killing of a top commander last month.

Both sides halted the heavy exchange of fire by mid-morning, signalling no immediate further escalation. It came as Egypt hosted high-level talks aimed at a cease-fire in the 10-month-old Israel-Hamas war in Gaza that diplomats hope will ease regional tensions.

Israel and Hezbollah said they aimed only at military targets. Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, said its attack had been delayed to give cease-fire talks a chance and the target was an Israeli military intelligence base close to Tel Aviv. Hezbollah, like Hamas, is backed by Iran.

Israel's military said one soldier with the navy was killed and two others were wounded either by an interceptor for incoming fire, or by shrapnel from one. Two Hezbollah fighters and a militant from an allied group were killed, the groups said.

Hezbollah called its attack on Israeli military positions an initial response to the killing of Fouad Shukur in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last month. Nasrallah said assaults on Israel will continue “because there is still the response of (allies) Iran and Yemen.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military eliminated thousands of rockets that were aimed at northern Israel and shot down drones heading for the centre of the country.

“I repeat — this is not the end of the story," he added. Israeli President Isaac Herzog told CBS that Israel's actions “prevented an escalation to a major war” but the threat remained.

Air raid sirens were reported throughout northern Israel, and Israel's international airport closed and diverted flights for about an hour. Israel's Home Front Command later lifted restrictions in most areas.

An Israeli military spokesman, Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, said Hezbollah intended to hit targets in northern and central Israel. He said initial assessments found “very little damage” but the military remained on high alert. He said around 100 Israeli aircraft took part in the strikes.

Hezbollah said its attack involved more than 320 Katyusha rockets aimed at multiple sites in Israel and a “large number” of drones. It said the operation targeted “a qualitative Israeli military target that will be announced later” as well as “enemy sites and barracks and Iron Dome (missile defense) platforms.”

Hezbollah said the strikes would allow it to launch more attacks deeper into Israel, but a later statement said “military operations for today have been completed.” It dismissed Israel's claim to have thwarted a stronger attack. Neither Israel nor Hezbollah provided evidence for their claims.

Some Israelis were shaken. In the northern city of Acre, retired teacher Saadia Even Tsur, 76, said he was at the synagogue when his bedroom was damaged and arrived home five minutes later. “I went up and saw the size of the miracle that happened to me,” he said. A window was broken and debris was on his bed.

Lebanon's caretaker Economy Minister Amin Salam, after an emergency government meeting, said officials were “feeling a bit more optimistic” about a de-escalation. “We feel more reassured since both sides confirmed that the expected operations ended,” he said.

US President Joe Biden was “closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon," according to Sean Savett, a spokesman for the National Security Council. The Pentagon said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. CQ Brown, is on a regional visit that includes Israel, Egypt and Jordan.

Follow The Gleaner on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.