Israel launches pre-emptive strike in Lebanon to prevent large-scale Hezbollah attack
File photo of Israeli soldiers in Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military on Sunday (Aug 25) launched pre-emptive strikes in Lebanon to prevent large-scale strikes from the Iranian-backed Hezbollah. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF)said they had detected preparations by Iran-backed Hezbollah to launch rockets and missiles.
The residents in areas of southern Lebanon where Hezbollah primarily operates were warned of the strikes and urged to "leave Immediately".
"Fighter jets are now attacking targets of the Hezbollah terrorist organisation that posed an immediate threat to the Israeli home front," the IDF said in a statement.
"Following these attacks and in accordance with the assessment of the situation held by the Home Front Command, life-saving instructions will be distributed in some areas of the country," it added.
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Tel Aviv had launched the attacks in self-defence while anticipating that Hezbollah would soon fire "rockets, and possibly missiles and UAVs, towards Israeli territory".
Meanwhile, residents of Golan Heights, the area where Hezbollah last fired rockets at a park and killed children, were also ordered by the IDF to stay near bomb shelters and avoid unnecessary movements.
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According to Lebanese media, around 40 Israeli strikes had been reported in the region as of the last update. Meanwhile, Hezbollah also announced that it had launched attacks in northern Israel.
"As part of the initial response to the brutal Zionist aggression on the southern suburbs of Beirut, which led to the death of the great Jihad leader, Mr Fuad Shukr, our forces began a large-scale air attack towards the Zionist entity and towards a specific Israeli military target to be announced in the future."
Watch |Israel-Hezbollah tensions: Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon kill 8
Israel vs Hezbollah
Tel Aviv hasbeen trading fire with Hezbollah across the southern Lebanon border in parallel with the Gaza war as rising hostilities increase the threat of a full-scale regional war.
More than 600 people in Lebanon have been killed since the start of the clashes last October, including more than 400 Hezbollah combatants and over 130 civilians, according to a Reuters toll.
Israel's pre-emptive strike on Sunday could further push Iran to launch its military campaign, especially after Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed on its soil.
Tehran has vowed to avenge the loss of Haniyeh but refrained from launching an all-out attack against Israel with the likes of the US and other Western nations recommending caution to avoid a spillover effect in the region.
(With inputs from agencies)