An Israeli “preemptive strike” with a hundred aircraft triggered the biggest shootout with Hezbollah in two decades | International

Hours before Israel and Hamas begin negotiating a ceasefire in Gaza in Cairo, this Sunday another front opened in the Middle East with the biggest shootout in two decades. Shortly before 5:00 a.m. (4:00 a.m., in mainland Spain), the Israeli army launched a surprise attack in Lebanon, which it defines as a “preventive attack”, with about 100 aircraft firing against “thousands of rocket launchers” in 40 areas, mostly in the south of the country. Hezbollah has announced shortly after the first phase – as many as 320 rockets and drones against 11 military targets – a retaliation for the assassination last month of its number two, Fuad Shukr, which it considers “successfully completed”.

According to officials, three people were killed in Israeli attacks in Lebanon. For its part, the Israeli military reported that a marine soldier was killed and two others were injured during the fighting in northern Israel, according to Reuters. Although it did not provide details about the circumstances of the soldier’s death, Israeli media noted that the death occurred on a warship in the open sea when an interceptor of Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system attacked a drone fired by Hezbollah.

Despite the intensity of the exchanges, the incident is very similar to what happened between Iran and Israel last April: a measured attack designed not to lead to an open war, which allows both sides to save face. The Shiite militia-party can present to its followers the fact that it fulfilled its threat to avenge the killing of its leader. While Israel demonstrates its air superiority and intelligence, acting 15 minutes before the planned attack and locating the Hezbollah launchers. At least, until the next confrontation. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already warned Hezbollah leaders in statements collected by various agencies that this attack is “not the end of the story”.

Shortly thereafter, images have emerged of anti-aircraft alerts and interceptions by anti-missile shields in the Jewish state, as well as bombings of two bars in Lebanon. The state agency defined these attacks as the “most violent” since October 8, 2023, when the clashes began.

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Israeli military officials initially declared a state of emergency for 48 hours, limiting outdoor gatherings to 30 people and closing access to beaches north of Tel Aviv. But around noon, the military lifted the alert restrictions across most of the country.

After two hours of firing, Hezbollah announced the end of the “first phase” of its response and the country’s main airport, Ben Gurion, near Tel Aviv, reopened the airspace, after being closed for a few hours. Beirut airport, considered the first Israeli objective in a major war, was also operating normally this Sunday. Similarly, a meeting was scheduled in the Egyptian capital to discuss a ceasefire in Gaza, at which Hamas announced its presence.

The Lebanese militia limited its retaliation to areas in the north it was already attacking in the ten-month low-intensity war it waged with Israel parallel to Gaza. However, it warned that this was only the “first phase”. Hezbollah also has no interest in increasing its aggression by escalating confrontation with Israel. A militia leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Sunday that the attack on Israel to avenge the death of its number two on July 30 had been delayed for about a month due to “political considerations”. Among those reasons, he highlighted the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip and the ongoing negotiations over the release of hostages. The leader expressed in written comments shared with the media that Hezbollah had “worked” to ensure that its response to Shukr’s killing did not lead to a full-scale war, Reuters reported.

On Sunday afternoon, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah released a televised message in which he provided information about the early morning attack against Israel. He said the main target was the Gilot base, north of Tel Aviv, where Mossad and other intelligence services have their headquarters. Hezbollah intended to show its ability to reach the interior of Israel (more than 100 kilometers) and choose a target linked to the assassination they were avenging, which was their number two target. The militia launched more than 300 rockets, so that the drones could pass, and chose to attack only military targets, not civilians. Nasrallah assured that the operation proceeded “according to plan”, thereby contradicting statements by the Israeli military, which claimed that its preemptive strikes had prevented a widespread attack by Hezbollah.

This escalation – unprecedented since the war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006 – is the result of a growing escalation in tension, depth and firepower between the two, fueled by the flames of the invasion of Gaza – which has surpassed 40,000 deaths – and which hit a turning point a month ago. At that time, a rocket fired from Lebanon killed 12 minors while they were playing soccer in the Golan Heights, a Syrian territory occupied by Israel. Apparently, it was a mistake by Hezbollah to target a nearby military base (which denies it). Israel then assassinated Hezbollah’s number two, in his manor in Beirut (Dahiya) and, the next day, Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniya in Tehran.

Iran and its ally Hezbollah had promised revenge, but diplomatic pressure, the negotiation of a ceasefire in Gaza to prevent it, and the importance of suspense as “part of the answer” (in the words of militia leader, Hassan Nasrallah) had postponed it until now.

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