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CNN —
The Israeli military launched what it called “preemptive” strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon, as the Iran-backed militant group said it carried out its own attacks in response to the killing of a top commander.
The overnight strikes are some of the most serious yet between Israel and Hezbollah, who have been exchanging fire for months. The hostilities have raised the specter of a regional conflagration, prompting intense diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said about 100 of its fighter jets “struck and destroyed thousands of Hezbollah rocket launcher barrels” across dozens of launch sites from Lebanon on Sunday. It followed these up with further attacks later in the day.
Israel said it carried out the strikes in self-defense after identifying that Hezbollah was “preparing to fire missiles and rockets toward Israeli territory.” Hezbollah called Israel’s description of its strike as preemptive “baseless.”
“We removed a wider threat, probably also a future threat in some areas,” IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Sunday.
In a meeting with his security cabinet Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was “determined to do everything to protect our country,” and vowed to “uphold a simple rule: whoever hurts us — we hurt him.”
The Israeli military launched what it called “preemptive” strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon, as the Iran-backed militant group said it carried out its own attacks in response to the killing of a top commander.
The overnight strikes are some of the most serious yet between Israel and Hezbollah, who have been exchanging fire for months. The hostilities have raised the specter of a regional conflagration, prompting intense diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said about 100 of its fighter jets “struck and destroyed thousands of Hezbollah rocket launcher barrels” across dozens of launch sites from Lebanon on Sunday. It followed these up with further attacks later in the day.
Israel said it carried out the strikes in self-defense after identifying that Hezbollah was “preparing to fire missiles and rockets toward Israeli territory.” Hezbollah called Israel’s description of its strike as preemptive “baseless.”
“We removed a wider threat, probably also a future threat in some areas,” IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Sunday.
In a meeting with his security cabinet Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was “determined to do everything to protect our country,” and vowed to “uphold a simple rule: whoever hurts us — we hurt him.”
