Israel attacked southern Lebanon early Sunday before Hezbollah launched hundreds of missiles and drones across the border in retaliation to the killing of its commander last month.
It marks a significant escalation in tensions in the region despite expectations that Hezbollah would retaliate after Israel killed Fuad Shukrin in a strike on Beirut in July.
Israel’s air strikes killed at least three people, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
The Israeli military claimed its attacks were pre-emptive, hitting over locations with more than 100 jets. The Lebanese group denied Israel’s attacks were pre-emptive.
In response, Hezbollah said it fired over 320 Katyusha rockets at 11 Israeli military bases, describing it as the “first phase” of retaliation for the killing of its commander.
The group claimed it targeted a “special military target” and the Iron Dome platforms, adding that the full response would “take some time.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that its action against Hezbollah “is not the end of the story.”
Ceasefire talks continue, so does killings in Gaza
According to Reuters, a Hezbollah official later revealed that the attack had been delayed by “political considerations,” mainly the ongoing talks on a ceasefire deal in Gaza.
The official said the group did not want its response to the killing of Shukr to trigger a full-scale war.
Talks of a truce in Gaza are ongoing in Cairo but a major sticking point is Netanyahu only wants a partial deal that allows Israel to continue the war after the hostages are released. “We are committed to continue the war after the pause in order to achieve the goal of destroying Hamas. I will not give up on this,” Netanyahu told Israel’s Channel 14 in late June.
As talks continue, so do Israel’s strikes on occupied Gaza. Just in a few hours on Sunday, Israel killed 28 people in the region, including six members of a single family.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, these attacks have killed 71 and injured 112 since Saturday.
Since October 7, the cumulative toll from Israeli strikes on Gaza has reached at least 40,405 Palestinians killed and 93,468 injured.
