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Israel says it struck southern Lebanon to “prevent” a Hezbollah attack on northern Israeli towns.
Hezbollah claims to have completed the first phase of its attack on Israel with “a large number of missiles” in response to the killing of commander Fuad Shukr in late July.
The Lebanese group said in a statement on Sunday that it fired more than 320 Katyusha rockets at 11 Israeli military bases and barracks, including the Meron base and four sites in the occupied Golan Heights.
He said the target was military bases to “facilitate the passage of drones” to their desired targets inside Israel. “And the drones have passed through as planned.”
This comes after Israel launched a series of intense airstrikes in southern Lebanon early on Sunday in what it said was a “preemptive” strike launched when Hezbollah was detected preparing to attack northern Israel.
While Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging tit-for-tat attacks across the border with some intensity since the start of Israel's war in Gaza in October, this marks a significant escalation.
“Most of the Israeli attacks against Lebanon occurred in the border area, up to 5 km [3 miles] Deep along the 12 km [74-mile] “The border is a dangerous place,” said Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr, reporting from Beirut.
“The border area is now a military zone. It has been evacuated of civilians. It has been repeatedly attacked by the Israeli army in recent months.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to call a meeting of the Security Council on Sunday morning, while the defence minister has declared a “special situation” for 48 hours.
Israel's Ben Gurion Airport was closed early in the morning as reports of injuries emerged in northern Israel. Meanwhile, Israeli cities opened public bomb shelters.
“There are reports that this initial wave of attacks in southern Lebanon has already ended, so we are waiting for news from the Israeli military to see whether or not they plan to carry out further attacks, which could, in turn, trigger a response from Hezbollah and expand this conflict,” Khodr said.
“This is and has been a very dangerous conflict, although it is largely contained, there is real concern that it could spread and spiral out of control.”
Global concern that Israel's war could escalate into a full-blown regional conflict has multiplied after last month's assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and of Shukr in Beirut, both blamed on Israel.
Sunday's attack came as Egypt hosted a new round of talks aimed at ending Israel's 11-month-old war on Gaza. Hezbollah has said it will stop fighting if a ceasefire is reached.
We will continue to report more.
