Israel attacks Lebanon with 100 jets, Hezbollah replies with 320 rockets | 10 p

Israel-Lebanon war: The Israeli military announced early August 25, 2024 that it was conducting pre-emptive strikes in Lebanon after detecting preparations for ‘large-scale’ attacks by the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. The Israeli military launched airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Sunday.
Hezbollah said it had launched more than 320 rockets at Israel overnight, targeting a string of military positions, even as Israel’s military said it was carrying out pre-emptive strikes against the group. Sunday’s attacks fueled a major escalation of cross-border hostilities.
Hezbollah announced the completion of the first phase of its retaliatory strike against Israel following the killing of commander Fuad Shukr at the end of July.
• The United Nations has warned against ‘escalatory action’. The UN and Lebanon’s Prime Minister said that the barrage of attacks were ‘worrying’.
The office of the UN special coordinator for Lebanon and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) “call on all to cease fire and refrain from further escalatory action”, a joint statement said
Joint statement from UNIFIL and @UNSCOL In light of worrying developments across the Blue Line since the early morning, UNSCOL and UNIFIL call on all to cease fire and refrain from further escalatory action.
• Lebanon’s Hezbollah said it fired more than 320 Katyusha rockets at 11 Israeli military bases and barracks, including the Meron base and four sites in the occupied Golan Heights.
• Hezbollah’s “response” was anticipated, coming as it is weeks after targeted killings of senior commanders in Hezbollah and its ally Hamas that were blamed on Israel.
• Israel says 100 of its jets bombed thousands of Hezbollah launch sites in southern Lebanon half an hour before the planned Hezbollah launch, to protect Israelis from the planned attack.
• Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant declared a nationwide “special situation” for 48 hours from 6am (8:30 am IST) on Sunday
• Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was “determined to do everything possible to defend” itself. “Whoever harms us – we harm him,” he said.
• Notably, Sunday’s attacks are a significant escalation despite the tit-for-tat attacks Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Netanyahu’s Israel has been engaging in since Tel Aviv attacked Gaza in 2023
• Global concerns about a potential regional conflict have surged following the assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut last month, both of which were attributed to Israel.
• United States said on Sunday it would “keep supporting Israel’s right to defend itself”. At President Joe Biden’s direction, “senior US officials have been communicating continuously with their Israeli counterparts”, US National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement.
• Sunday’s attack occurred while Egypt is facilitating a new round of negotiations to end Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza, which has now persisted for 11 months. Hezbollah has stated it will cease hostilities if a ceasefire is reached.