Israel and Hezbollah have now entered a stage in their nearly year-long conflict that reports say is verging on a full-out war. Citing Israel’s military, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that “dozens of warplanes” struck southern Lebanon on Saturday night into Sunday morning. The IDF excused their attack as “pre-emptive”.
In response to the mysterious string of attacks on Hezbollah members’ communication devices - that left more than 30 people dead, including civilians - the militant group targeted Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems which is one of the developers of its Iron Dome air-defense system. Hezbollah also said that they targeted Israel’s Ramat David Airbase near Haifa.
According to the report, the IDF did not confirm the target of the militant group’s strikes, but said they had “struck deeper than usual into Israeli territory”.
The IDF said that about 150 rockets, missiles and other projectiles were fired onto its territory overnight on Saturday and early Sunday, BBC reported. The report added that thousands of Israelis took cover in bomb shelters as a result, which resulted in damaging homes near Haifa.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would deal a “series of blows on Hezbollah that it could have never imagined”. Meanwhile, Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Naim Qassem said: “Threats will not stop us… We are ready to face all military possibilities.”
"We have entered a new phase, namely an open reckoning [with Israel]”, Qassem said while at the funeral of Ibrahim Aqil, a high-ranking Hezbollah commander who was killed in an IDF strike in Beirut on Friday amongst a total of at least 45 people, including children.
International officials expressed their concern regarding the latest exchange of violence in Lebanon. For example, UN chief Antonio Guterres told CNN he feared “the possibility of transforming Lebanon [into] another Gaza”. Meanwhile, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert wrote on that the Middle East is on the brink of “imminent catastrophe” and said there is “no military solution that will make either side safer”.
The US embassy in Beirut also urged citizens in Lebanon to evacuate while commercial options are still available.
Tensions between Israel and Lebanon escalated following Israel’s retaliatory attacks in the Gaza Strip in October of last year. Since then, the IDF and Hezbollah have been exchanging cross-border fire almost daily.