Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has issued a warning that Sunday’s preemptive strike on Hezbollah launch sites in southern Lebanon is “not the end of the story,” and vowed more “surprising blows.” The Israeli military carried out these strikes after concluding that an attack by Hezbollah was imminent.
Approximately 100 Israeli Air Force fighter jets, directed by IDF intelligence, reportedly destroyed thousands of Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon. In retaliation for the deaths of its top commander, Fouad Shukr, killed in an airstrike on Beirut last month, the Islamic paramilitary group fired hundreds of rockets at Israel.
What happened today is not the end of the story,” Netanyahu told a government meeting on Sunday. We are striking Hezbollah with surprising crushing blows. Three weeks ago, we eliminated its chief of staff [Fuad Shukr], and today we thwarted its attack plan.
Although multiple media reports indicate that US intelligence had helped thwart the Hezbollah attack, Washington was not directly involved in the Israeli operation. According to Netanyahu, Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “need to know that this is an additional step in changing the situation in the north and returning our residents securely to their homes.
Nasrallah responded by stating that Hezbollah’s first phase of retaliation had been completed successfully. He added that the group would assess the impact of its strikes and “if the result is not enough, then we reserve the right to respond at a later time.” White House National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett stated that US President Joe Biden is closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon, emphasizing the administration’s commitment to supporting Israel’s right to defend itself while working for regional stability.
As tensions continue to rise between the two nations, the United States has increased its military presence in the Middle East by deploying two aircraft carrier strike groups in the region. Despite the ongoing skirmishes and heightened aggression from both sides, Israel and Hezbollah have not yet escalated their conflict into a full-scale direct engagement.