Israel and Hezbollah exchange heavy fire in major escalation
Israel says its warplanes have hit Hezbollah targets in Lebanon after detecting moves to launch an aerial attack on Israel.
About 100 fighter jets staged 2,000 raids on rocket launchers, a move that the Israeli forces termed as "self-defense". Three people were killed, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
Hezbollah later said it had launched hundreds of rockets toward northern Israel as "phase one" of a multi-stage attack in retaliation for the killing of one of its senior commanders. No casualties were reported inside Israel.
The exchange was marking an upsurge in hostilities between Israel and the Shai Muslim armed organization- a puppet organization of Iran.
Nearly every day since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza on October 7, there have been exchanges of fire across the Israel-Lebanon border.
Hezbollah has said it is acting in support of the Palestinian group that is also backed by Iran. Both groups are proscribed as terrorist organisations by Israel, the UK and others.
So far, more than 560 people have been reported killed by Lebanon's health ministry, the vast majority of them being Hezbollah fighters, while 26 civilians and 23 soldiers have been killed in Israel, according to the authorities.
Humans in the UN add that around 200,000 people have been displaced on both sides of the border.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said "extensive preparations" for a large-scale air attack by Hezbollah had been identified, leading the IDF to open fire with the pre-emptive strikes.
It said its planes struck more than 40 launch areas, some of which were aimed at central Israel.
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Speaking after the flurry of attacks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israeli forces were "determined to do everything possible to defend our country" and return tens of thousands of residents of northern Israel who have been displaced by the conflict.
"Whoever harms us - we will harm them," he added.
According to Foreign Minister Israel Katz, Israel has been "acting to protect its citizens and territory" and "does not seek all-out war" in the Middle East.
Israel said Lebanese civilians had been warned to immediately leave areas where Hezbollah was was operating.
The Lebanese ministry of public health said three people had been killed in Israeli strikes in the south of the country. One person was killed in a drone strike on a car in Khiam, the ministry said. Hezbollah announced the death of a fighter from the allied Shia Amal movement in the village.
The ministry also said an Israeli attack on the village of Tayri had killed two people, without providing further details.
Only a few hours after the Israeli strikes, Hezbollah said it had launched 320 Katyusha rockets aimed at 11 Israeli military bases and barracks.
In a statement, it said the barrages had "fulfilled and achieved" its initial response targeting the ones behind the killing last month of one of its senior military commanders, Fuad Shukr, in an Israel strike in the capital of Beirut in Lebanon. Israel accused Shukr of being behind the killing of 12 children in a rocket strike in the occupied Golan Heights.
Hezbollah also played down comments by the Israeli defence that its strikes on Sunday had stemmed a so-called swipe at northern Israel.
The group is due to make a speech later on Sunday.
The escalation, however happened as talks go on for a ceasefire and a hostage release accord in Gaza – the best chance to avoid a conflagration from escalating along the Israel-Lebanon border.
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Hezbollah
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