Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to send more “surprising blows” against Hezbollah after West Jerusalem’s preemptive strike on Lebanon. The Israeli Defense Forces struck targets in Lebanon shortly before the group attacked Israel to avenge the death of its top commander.
The Islamic paramilitary group attacked Israel, firing hundreds of rockets to avenge the death of its top commander, Fouad Shukr, who was killed in an airstrike on Beirut last month.
This strike on Hezbollah launch sites in southern Lebanon on Sunday is “not the end of the story,” said Netanyahu as he vowed more “surprising blows.”
According to a report by RT, the Israeli military has said it carried out preemptive strikes against the Lebanon-based militia after concluding that an attack by Hezbollah was imminent. Around 100 Israeli Air Force fighter jets, directed by IDF intelligence, reportedly destroyed thousands of Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon.
“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,” he stated.
Netanyahu also said that 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.”
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The United States had helped thwart the attacks on Israel by Hezbollah, however, it may not yet be over. Nasrallah has said in a statement that the first phase of its retaliation had been “completed successfully,” adding that Hezbollah 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.”
Considering he commented “first phase,” it implies that a second phase will follow. Much of Hezbollah, Iran, and Lebanon,
The U.S. continues to aid Israel and has boosted its presence in the region. This could all be a sign of increasing tensions toward a larger more regional, and possibly global war.
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Israel and Hezbollah have routinely exchanged cross-border artillery and rocket fire since the war with Hamas in Gaza began in October, but the clashes have so far stopped short of a full-scale direct engagement.
Ceasefire and hostage talks will continue even after all of these attacks.
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