Politics Hezbollah announces retaliatory attack on Israel
The Lebanese Hezbollah militia has announced that it has begun its retaliatory attack on Israel.
It was in response to the killing of senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in the capital Beirut, the Shia militia, which is allied with Iran, announced. Shukr was killed almost a month ago in an Israeli attack.
Israel declared a nationwide state of emergency. It has been in force since 6.00 a.m. local time (05.00 a.m. CEST) for the next 48 hours, said Defense Minister Joav Galant.
Immediately beforehand, the Israeli military had attacked dozens of Shia militia positions in the neighboring country. According to the army, this was intended to prevent an immediate threat from Hezbollah. Security circles in Lebanon confirmed the Israeli attacks.
The Israeli military had recently determined that Hezbollah was preparing to fire rockets into Israeli territory, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari announced early this morning. Dozens of Israeli Air Force fighter jets are currently attacking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon "that pose an immediate threat to the citizens of the State of Israel". This is an act of self-defense. Israel's missile defense, navy and air force are involved.
Hezbollah would soon fire rockets into Israeli territory and possibly also send drones. Hezbollah's ongoing aggression poses the danger "that the Lebanese people, the Israeli people - and the entire region - will be drawn into a further escalation". Israel would not tolerate Hezbollah attacks on Israel's civilian population, warned the Israeli army spokesman.
Israeli Defense Minister Galant spoke with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin after the start of the attacks in Lebanon, according to Galant's office. The two emphasized the importance of avoiding a regional escalation.
The USA is considered Israel's protecting power and had recently deployed additional warships, aircraft and a nuclear submarine equipped with missiles to the region - probably also in order to be able to support Israel in the event of an attack by forces in Lebanon or Iran.
Israeli rescue service declares highest level of preparedness
In view of the imminent threat situation on the border with Lebanon, according to Israel, the Israeli rescue service has declared the highest level of preparedness nationwide, as reported by the Times of Israel. According to the report, Israel's Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv diverted incoming flights to other airports. The Israeli airport authority initially stated that no take-offs would take place in the next few hours. Shortly afterwards, however, the army announced that the airport would be reopened immediately.
Since the beginning of the Gaza war between Israel and the Islamist Hamas more than ten months ago, the Hamas-allied Hezbollah militia from Lebanon has been firing at targets in neighboring northern Israel on an almost daily basis. The Israeli military, in turn, regularly attacks targets in the neighboring country.
The USA, Egypt and Qatar, which are mediating in the Gaza war, hope that an agreement in the negotiations on a ceasefire in Gaza will also prevent an escalation of the conflict with Hezbollah and Iran and thus a conflagration in the Middle East. The talks are due to continue today in Cairo.
