Israelis stage heavy airstrikes in Lebanon and Hezbollah launches drone attack on Israel

Israel launched a series of intense airstrikes in southern Lebanon early Sunday in what it said was a preemptive strike against the Hezbollah militant group, threatening to trigger a broader regionwide war that could torpedo efforts to forge a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.

The army said Hezbollah was planning to launch a heavy barrage of rockets and missiles toward Israel. The Iranian-backed group had been promising to retaliate for Israel’s assassination of a top commander late last month.

Air raid sirens were reported throughout northern Israel, and Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport began diverting incoming flights and delaying takeoffs.

Soon afterward, Hezbollah announced it had launched an attack on Israel with a “large number of drones” as an initial response to the killing of Fuad Shukr, a top commander with the group, in a strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs last month.

Hezbollah said its drones were targeting “a qualitative Israeli military target that will be announced later” as well as “a number of enemy sites and barracks and Iron Dome platforms.” Iron Dome is Israel’s antimissile defense system.

The attacks came as Egypt hosts a new round of talks aimed at ending Israel’s war against Hamas, now in its 11th month. Hezbollah has said it will halt its fighting if there is a cease-fire.

In the U.S., a spokesman for the National Security Council, Sean Savett, said President Biden was “closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon.”

“At his direction, senior U.S. officials have been communicating continuously with their Israeli counterparts,” Savett said. “We will keep supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, and we will keep working for regional stability.”

Last week, Israel’s defense minister said he was moving more troops toward the Lebanese border in anticipation of possible fighting with the Iranian-backed group.

Israel’s military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said early Sunday: ”‎‏In a self-defense act to remove these threats, the [Israeli military] is striking terror targets in Lebanon, from which Hezbollah was planning to launch their attacks on Israeli civilians.”

“We can see that Hezbollah is preparing to launch an extensive attack on Israel, while endangering the Lebanese civilians,” he added, without providing details. ”‎‏We warn the civilians located in the areas where Hezbollah is operating to move out of harm’s way immediately for their own safety.”

Lebanese media reported strikes in the country’s south without immediately providing details. Social media video showed what appeared to be strikes in southern Lebanon.

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.

Hagari said dozens of Israeli warplanes were striking targets in southern Lebanon. He said air defenses, warships and warplanes were defending Israel’s skies and involved in the operation.

Hezbollah began attacking Israel almost immediately after the war with Hamas erupted on Oct. 7 with a Hamas cross-border attack. Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire nearly daily, displacing tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border and raising fears that the fighting could escalate into all-out war. But until Sunday, both sides had avoided a broader conflagration.

Hezbollah is considered much more powerful than its ally Hamas, with an estimated arsenal of 150,000 rockets and missiles, including precision-guided missiles. In recent months the group has also stepped up its use of drones, against which Israel is less well-equipped to defend.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he and his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, were managing the latest assault from military headquarters in Tel Aviv. Gallant declared a “special situation on the home front,” and Netanyahu’s security Cabinet made plans to meet later Sunday morning.

Federman and Sewell write for the Associated Press. AP journalist Aamer Madhani in Buellton, Calif., contributed to this report.