Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel took pre-emptive action against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement in Lebanon and said air defences had intercepted all rockets and drones launched against Israel.
Israel has vowed a crushing response to any major Hezbollah attack that would likely devastate Lebanon’s civilian infrastructure and economy, which has been mired in crisis for years.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking at the start of a Cabinet meeting, said the military had eliminated “thousands of rockets that were aimed at northern Israel” and urged citizens to adhere to directives from the Home Front Command.
Israeli media cited the Israel Airports Authority for news of the flight cancellations. Flight-tracking data showed at least two El Al flights swinging far south and diverting after the announcement.
Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones against Israel in retaliation for the assassination of a senior commander in Beirut last month, the Iranian-backed movement said, as Israel's cabinet met to prepare a response.
Cross-border attacks between Israel and Hezbollah have increased recently, as the Lebanese militant group launched over 200 projectiles towards Israel on Tuesday. Israel said it is winding down its operations in Gaza to focus on Lebanon.
Israel's military said the airstrike targeted a weapons depot used by Hezbollah militants amid heightened tensions following the death of a senior militant commander last month. Hezbollah and Israel have been trading fire since October 8, a day after Hamas attacked the Jewish country.
This came after Hamas launched two M90 rockets from Gaza towards Tel Aviv, one of which fell in the sea and the other failed to reach Israeli territory. Tensions in the Middle East have been high since the killings of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr.
Considering the looming threat of a widened war in the Middle East, the Pentagon on Sunday ordered the deployment of guided missile submarines.
Last week, Israel killed Shukr, Hezbollah's senior-most military commander, in a strike on the group's stronghold in the southern suburbs of Lebanon's capital Beirut. Hezbollah's leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, vowed revenge, but said the response would be "studied."
Last week, Israel killed Shukr, Hezbollah's senior-most military commander, in a strike on the group's stronghold in the southern suburbs of Lebanon's capital Beirut.
Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged near-daily strikes for the past 10 months during the war in Gaza. But last week’s assassinations of Hamas' leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur sent regional tensions soaring.
The Middle East is on the edge of an all out war after the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Iran. Iran has vowed retaliation against Israel who it blames for the killing of Haniyeh.
After the Israeli strike killed Hezebollah's commander Fuad Shukr, the Lebanon-based militant organisation attacked Israel twice. The recent developments have spurred fear of wider war in the Middle East.
Tensions have escalated further between Isreal and Hezbollah after the former killed top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in retaliation to the attack at Golan Heights that killed 12 children.
Iran's Axis of Resistance is a coalition with the potential to further destabilize the Middle East amid the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict. Their coordinated actions against Israel and close ties to Iran could trigger wider conflicts, disrupt global trade, and worsen humanitarian crises.
Hamas and Iran don't want a regional war, but there is a crime that should be punished, Hamas deputy chief in Gaza Khalil Al-Hayya said in a press conference in Tehran after the killing of the Palestinian militant group's chief Ismail Haniyeh.
Israel's Tuesday strike on Beirut, Lebanon targeting a senior Hezbollah commander in retaliation for Saturday's Golan Heights attack shone the light on the decades-long conflict between the two nations. Israel blamed Hezbollah's Fuad Shukr for the Golan Heights attack that killed 12 children.
Ismail Haniyeh, the chief of Hamas' political bureau, has long been a target for Israel's military and intelligence services. His assassination followed an Israeli strike in Beirut to kill Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in retaliation for a rocket attack in Golan Heights that killed 12 youths.
Israel carried out the strike in Beirut against Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commander allegedly responsible for the Golan Heights attack on Saturday that killed 12. Israel blames the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon, which has denied any role in the attack, amid boiling regional tensions.
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