Netanyahu Vows More 'Surprising Blows' After Preemptive Hezbollah Attack: "Not The End"
"What happened today is not the end of the story," said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement posted on X. Early morning 'preemptive' strikes included over 100 Israeli fighter jets simultaneously attacking thousands of Hezbollah rocket launchers and drone sites across southern Lebanon.
"We are hitting Hezbollah with surprising blows. Three weeks ago we eliminated their chief of staff and today we thwarted their attack," Netanyahu said further.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) later said Hezbollah had launched 210 rockets and some 20 drones on northern and central Israel.
In follow-up IDF Spokesman Rear Adm Daniel Hagari announced that at least six Hezbollah operatives were killed in Sunday's major preemptive operation. This brings the tally to 30 Hezbollah operatives killed in just the last week.
Hagari declared Sunday's operation to be a success: "Contrary to Hezbollah’s claims, there were no impacts in IDF bases, not in the north and not in the center [of the country]," he said, rejecting claims made by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Interestingly, Israel has disclosed that it gave Washington a warning ahead of the major escalation. The Times of Israel details:
Israel gave the Americans "considerable" advance notice of its pre-dawn preemptive strike on Hezbollah’s rocket and missile launchers, Channel 2 news reports.
It says the US administration gave its backing to the attack, but warned both before and after it took place that Israel should be careful to avoid escalating the conflict toward all-out war.
The TV report said the message from the US was conveyed in several interactions with Jerusalem and broadly stated: "We support the operation to avert the specific threat, but be careful in your actions; don’t do anything that is likely to lead to a regional war."
So far, there doesn't appear to be runaway escalation as a result of Sunday's exchange of fresh fire.
Incredible photos by AFP's Jalaa Marey of a Hezbollah drone being shot down over northern Israel. pic.twitter.com/3gs79tlT79
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The cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah was some of the most severe in months, resulting several fatalities in Lebanon, according to the country's health ministry. However, within hours after the fight began, both sides appeared to de-escalate, with Hezbollah declaring its military operations "finished for the day."
In a further indication that the situation was stabilizing, Israel, which shuttered Ben-Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv earlier, reopened the airport later on Sunday.