Israeli jets have launched strikes in Lebanon after the military assessed that the was preparing to fire rockets and missiles towards Israel.
“The IDF identified the Hezbollah terrorist organization preparing to fire missiles and rockets toward Israeli territory. In response to these threats, the IDF is striking terror targets in Lebanon,” the Israel Defence Forces said in a statement.
Announcing the strikes in a video released at the same time, military spokesman Daniel Hagari said that “Hezbollah will soon fire rockets, and possibly missiles and UAVs, towards Israeli territory”.
“From right next to the homes of Lebanese civilians in the south of Lebanon, we can see that Hezbollah is preparing to launch an extensive attack on Israel, while endangering the Lebanese civilians” he added, urging civilians there “to move out of harm’s way”.
“Hezbollah’s ongoing aggression risks dragging the people of Lebanon, the people of Israel, and the whole region into a wider escalation.”
Flights to and from Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv were been suspended, and Israel’s cabinet was to meet at 7 am local time (3pm AEDT), Israeli media reported.
Hezbollah did not immediately comment on the strikes, which came amid between the two sides since a missile strike in the last month killed 12 youngsters and the Israeli military assassinated a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut in response.
In an Arabic-language message addressed to the residents of southern Lebanon, the military said: “We are monitoring Hezbollah’s preparations to carry out large-scale attacks on Israeli territory near your homes. You are in danger. We are attacking and eliminating Hezbollah threats.
“Anyone who is near areas where Hezbollah operates should leave immediately to protect themselves and their families,” the message posted on Telegram said.
Source Agencies
