Israel and Hezbollah trade heavy fire before pulling back, jolting a region braced for war

JERUSALEM: Israel launched a wave of airstrikes across southern Lebanon early Sunday in what it called a preemptive strike to avert a large Hezbollah rocket and missile attack. The militant group responded, saying it fired hundreds of rockets and drones to avenge the killing of a top commander last month.

Both sides halted the heavy exchange of fire by mid-morning, signalling no immediate further escalation. It came as Egypt hosted high-level talks aimed at a cease-fire in the 10-month-old Israel-Hamas war in Gaza that diplomats hope will ease regional tensions.

Both Israel and Hezbollah said they aimed only at military targets. Israel's military said one soldier with the navy was killed and two others were wounded either by an interceptor for incoming fire, or by shrapnel from one. Two Hezbollah fighters and a militant from an allied group were killed, the groups said.

Hezbollah called its attack on Israeli military positions an initial response to the killing of Fouad Shukur in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last month. Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was expected to speak later Sunday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military eliminated thousands of rockets that were aimed at northern Israel and shot down drones heading for the centre of the country.

“I repeat — this is not the end of the story," he added.

Flights diverted as air raid sirens wail

Air raid sirens were reported throughout northern Israel, and Israel's international airport closed and diverted flights for about an hour. Israel's Home Front Command later lifted restrictions in most areas.

An Israeli military spokesman, Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, said Hezbollah intended to hit targets in northern and central Israel. He said initial assessments found “very little damage” but the military remained on high alert. He said around 100 Israeli aircraft took part in the strikes.

Hezbollah said its attack involved more than 320 Katyusha rockets aimed at multiple sites in Israel and a “large number” of drones. It said the operation targeted “a qualitative Israeli military target that will be announced later” as well as “enemy sites and barracks and Iron Dome (missile defense) platforms”.

Hezbollah said the strikes would allow it to launch more attacks deeper into Israel, but a later statement said “military operations for today have been completed”.

It dismissed Israel's claim to have thwarted a stronger attack. Neither Israel nor Hezbollah provided evidence for their claims.

Some Israelis were shaken. In the northern city of Acre, retired teacher Saadia Even Tsur, 76, said he was at the synagogue when his bedroom was damaged and arrived home five minutes later. “I went up and saw the size of the miracle that happened to me,” he said. A window was broken and debris was on his bed.

Lebanon's caretaker Economy Minister Amin Salam, after an emergency government meeting, said officials were “feeling a bit more optimistic” about a de-escalation. “We feel more reassured since both sides confirmed that the expected operations ended,” he said.

President Joe Biden was “closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon", according to Sean Savett, a spokesman for the National Security Council. The Pentagon said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. CQ Brown, is on a regional visit that includes Israel, Egypt and Jordan.

All-out war apparently averted for now

Randa Slim, a senior fellow at the Washington, DC-based Middle East Institute, called the exchange of fire “still within the rules of engagement and unlikely at this point to lead to an all-out war”.

Danny Citrinowicz, an expert at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies, said Hezbollah might be trying to “balance the equation without escalating into war”.

Each side hopes their narrative will be sufficient for them to declare victory and avoid a wider confrontation, he said.

Hezbollah began attacking Israel almost immediately after the start of the war in Gaza, which was triggered by Hamas' October 7 attack into southern Israel. Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged fire almost daily, displacing tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border.

Hezbollah, which fought Israel to a stalemate in 2006, is believed to be far more powerful now. The United States and Israel estimate it has some 150,000 rockets and is capable of hitting anywhere inside Israel. The group has also developed drones capable of evading Israel's defences, as well as precision-guided munitions.

Israel has vowed a crushing response to any major Hezbollah attack. It has an extensive multi-tiered missile defence system, and it is backed by a US-led coalition that helped it shoot down hundreds of missiles and drones fired from Iran earlier this year. The US military has been building up its forces across the region in recent weeks.

Hezbollah is a close ally of Iran, which has also threatened to retaliate against Israel for the killing of a senior Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran last month. Israel has not said whether it was involved.

Iranian state media on Sunday played up the Hezbollah attack, calling it a success, but there was no immediate comment from Iranian officials.

The US and other mediators see a cease-fire in Gaza as key to averting a wider Mideast war. Hezbollah has said it will halt its strikes on Israel if there is a cease-fire.

Egypt was hosting high-level talks in Cairo on Sunday aimed at bridging the gaps in a proposal for a truce and the release of scores of hostages held by Hamas. The talks include CIA director William Burns and David Barnea, the head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency.

Hamas sent a delegation to be briefed by Egyptian and Qatari mediators but was not directly taking part in negotiations.