Hours after 100 Israeli warplanes struck southern Lebanon, destroying thousands of Hezbollah missile launchers in what was described as a preemptive strike, the Middle East is bracing for an extended conflict that could involve Iran and its allied militias.
Israeli officials said the attack began at 5 a.m. local time and was based on accurate intelligence that Hezbollah was set to launch thousands of missiles on northern Israel as well as drone attacks on a key intelligence center north of Tel Aviv in retaliation for the killing of its commander in July.
Israel declared a 48-hour state of emergency and closed its main airport for several hours, causing several foreign airlines to cancel flights. Hezbollah responded by firing more than 200 projectiles, according to Israel, though officials said there was very limited damage. One Israeli soldier was killed by falling debris, while three people were reported dead in Lebanon.
Had Hezbollah successfully attacked targets in central Israel, the 10-month-long fighting in the border region could have spiraled into a full-scale war.
“Our hope is that the events of last night do not escalate to a level that could lead to a regional war,” U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Sunday evening during a visit to Canada.
For the moment, at least, there is relative peace.
Retired Brigadier General Ilan Bitan, a former defense chief of Israel’s air force, said: “It was a great success that we detected the plans and now there is a possibility for both sides not to escalate this complex situation further.” Both Israel and Hezbollah declared that their operations had ended for the time being – although low-level fighting continues.
Israel reopened its airport and eased restrictions on public gatherings imposed earlier in the day. Israel’s military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagri, said there was no damage to any Israeli military bases. The Israeli military did not re-impose security restrictions on the population on Sunday night, indicating that it did not expect any further attacks in the near future.
It is noteworthy that talks between Israel and Palestinian militia Hamas aimed at establishing a ceasefire in Gaza began in Cairo as planned on Sunday.
But after the Hamas delegation left Cairo on Sunday evening, the group’s spokesman and leader Osama Hamdan said Israel had “set new conditions for a ceasefire” and “is still procrastinating,” according to a statement posted on the group’s Telegram account. Taking a dig at President Joe Biden’s administration, he said it was “raising false hopes by talking about an imminent agreement for electoral purposes.”
The Associated Press quoted a US official who asked not to be named as saying that the talks will continue at a lower level in the coming days in an effort to bridge differences between the parties. The official said recent talks have been constructive and both sides are working to reach an implementable agreement.
Emphasis on ‘results’
Mike Singh, managing director of the Washington Institute, said Israeli exchanges with Hezbollah are “more likely to aid rather than complicate ceasefire talks.” “By sending the message that Israel is willing and able to move forward, and that Washington will support it when it does, the U.S. and Israel have underscored the consequences of refusing to compromise for Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran.”
Hezbollah said the attack on Israel was planned in retaliation for the killing of its commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut’s southern suburbs on July 30. The group said it fired more than 320 missiles targeting 11 military barracks and military sites in northern Israel, followed by drone attacks.
Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah said on Sunday that the Mossad intelligence service’s base in Glilot was the main target of the attack.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a security cabinet meeting on Sunday and said he was determined to do “everything to defend our country, ensure the safe return of residents of northern Israel to their homes and uphold one simple rule: Whoever harms us – we will harm them.”
Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke by phone over the weekend. He declined to say whether the U.S. was warned in advance of Sunday’s attack, saying only that “it was an Israeli operation.”
US support
The United States has increased its naval and air defence presence in the region while warning Iran and its allies not to escalate hostilities.
Asked if Israel had informed the US in advance of its plans to attack Hezbollah, National Security Adviser Sullivan dodged the question. “I can’t say anything directly about yesterday’s conversation except that there was an ongoing dialogue and we have been monitoring the threat of Hezbollah attacks against Israel for some time,” he said.
But despite new US statements on Sunday reaffirming support for Israel’s right to defend itself, the attack on Hezbollah is “a setback for US diplomacy, which has been focused on de-escalation” and seeking a ceasefire in Gaza, according to Merissa Khurma, director of the Middle East program at the Wilson Center in Washington. “Personally, the last ten-plus months have seen many ups and downs in US-Israel relations, and certainly a significant escalation of tensions.”
He said this raises doubts among regional allies “about whether the United States still has influence over Israel.”
Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging gunfire along the border since October, when the Lebanese organization began fighting in Gaza in support of Hamas. Since then, Israeli attacks have killed at least 500 people, most of them Hezbollah fighters. In Israel, Hezbollah attacks have killed about 30 soldiers and 18 civilians.
Preventing further escalation of clashes has been paramount in international diplomatic efforts to ease tensions in the Middle East.
Iran blamed Israel for the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’ political office in Tehran, hours after the killing of Hezbollah’s military chief in Beirut on July 30. Iran has vowed to retaliate, but has also said it will do so at its own time. Israel has repeatedly warned it not to do so.
On Sunday, Netanyahu warned Hezbollah and Iran that the latest attack was not the “end of the story” but “another step toward changing the situation in the north and sending our residents safely back to their homes.”
Abandonment
The US is trying to mediate a settlement between Lebanon and Israel over border disputes. The fighting has led to the evacuation of thousands of Israelis and Lebanese from the border region, and Israel wants Hezbollah to move its fighters away from the border so its citizens can return.
Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran and designated a terrorist organization by the US, says it will continue hostilities with Israel until Israel agrees to a ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza. Hamas is also designated a terrorist group by the US and other countries.
The war in the Palestinian territory began on October 7 when Iran-backed Hamas militants attacked Israel and killed 1,200 people and kidnapped others. Israel’s retaliatory strikes in Gaza have killed at least 40,000 people, according to Hamas health officials in Gaza.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
