Netanyahu: ‘Whoever hurts us — we hurt him’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today vowed to protect Israel and delivered a promise and a warning: “Whoever hurts us — we hurt him.”
The comments came at the beginning of a meeting of Israel’s security cabinet in which the prime minister said he, the minister of defense and the chief of staff directed the IDF to launch preemptive strikes on Hezbollah targets.
The strikes took out thousands of rockets aimed at northern Israel and thwarted other threats, Netanyahu said.
"We are determined to do everything to protect our country, return the residents of the north safely to their homes and continue to uphold a simple rule: Whoever hurts us — we hurt him," he said.
Israeli military leader says Hezbollah plans included civilian targets
An Israeli military leader this morning said the nation's forces were able to stop at least part of a planned Hezbollah attack in retaliation for Israel's assassination of a top Hezbollah commander last month.
In a briefing today, Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said Lebanon-based Hezbollah militants had been preparing to launch an extensive rocket attack against northern Israel using thousands of rocket launchers. The operation was to begin at 5 a.m., he said, before it was thwarted, in part, by Israel's preemptive charge.
Israel's assault included 100 aircraft that targeted thousands of Hezbollah rocket launchers in 40 launch areas, Shoshani said.
Hezbollah carried on with its mission, he said, firing hundreds of rockets and UAVs toward northern Israel and without omitting areas with homes and civilians.
"This is a part of a larger attack that was planned," Shoshani said, "and we were able to thwart a big part of it."
Hezbollah said in a statement earlier today that it hit 11 targets, all military bases, barracks or artillery positions.
Shoshani made clear that Israel saw the Hezbollah plans as a serious threat on its civilian population. "Israel will not tolerate Hezbollah's attacks on our civilians, and we keep the right to defend our people," the lieutenant colonel said.
He said it wasn't yet clear if Hezbollah was done with its attack as planned. "We're still assessing," he said.
Attacks between Israel, Hezbollah come at crucial time in cease-fire talks
The night's strikes and counterstrikes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants came at a crucial time in Israel-Hamas cease fire talks.
The United States has officials in Cairo, location of the talks, urging compromise that would create a cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas militants. Hezbollah has sided with Hamas.
The negotiations restarted Saturday, according to Reuters, with little progress made.
Yesterday, President Joe Biden spoke to Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar and President Abdel-Fattah El Sisi of Egypt, emphasizing the need to remove any obstacles to a deal, according to White House readouts of the phone calls.
Biden and his counterparts want to see a cease-fire that also frees Israeli and other hostages being held by militants in Gaza, brings food, water and medical care to Palestinian civilians in Gaza, and deescalates regional tensions, according to the White House statements.
New attacks between Israel and Hezbollah, widely seen as a proxy of Iran, wouldn't seem to achieve that goal. A National Security Council spokesperson said overnight that Biden was watching the situation closely.
Israeli fighter jets took out Hezbollah 'firing canisters,' IDF spokesman says
About 100 Israeli Air Force fighter jets destroyed Hezbollah "firing canisters" that were headed for northern Israel, an Israeli defense spokesperson said.
Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a statement that "thousands" of the Hezbollah canisters were taken out by the Air Force fighters.
Some of the munitions, he said, were aimed at central Israel.
Hezbollah says attacks on Israeli targets are proving successful
Hezbollah said today that it has successfully attacked Israeli sites.
In a statement, it said the first phase of a campaign against Israel has been completed.
"The first phase has been completed with complete success," the statement reads. "This phase involved targeting zionist barracks and sites to facilitate the passage of attack drones towards their intended targets deep within the entity."
The Iran-backed militant group gave some credit to its attack drones, which it said "crossed as planned" into Israel.
The group also said it has fired 320 Katyusha rockets and listed 11 Israeli bases and military sites it said were struck successfully.
NBC News has not immediately able to verify the details in the statement.
White House is monitoring the situation
President Joe Biden is keeping an eye on the situation, a National Security Council spokesperson said.
“President Biden is closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon," NSC spokesperson Sean Savett said.
"He has been engaged with his national security team throughout the evening," Savett said. "At his direction, senior U.S. officials have been communicating continuously with their Israeli counterparts."
Drawing Hezbollah and possibly Iran, its backer, into Israel's war with Hamas militants in Gaza is something the United States wants to avoid, and the White House has been pushing for a cease-fire amid ongoing talks.
"We will keep supporting Israel’s right to defend itself," Savett said, "and we will keep working for regional stability.”
After temporary shut down, Israel's main international airport returns to operations
Israel's main international airport, Ben Gurion, was returning to normal operations early Sunday, a spokesperson for the Israeli Airport Authority said in a statement.
“According to the assessment of the situation, Israel Airport is expected to return to operations ... including takeoffs and landings," the spokesperson said.
The airport was shut down temporarily amid the strikes between Israel and Hezbollah, during which time some planes were diverted to alternative airports, the spokesperson said.
Israeli minister of defense: Israel attacked Hezbollah preemptively
In a call today with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant explained Israel's military action as preemptive and designed to protect its citizens.
Gallant declared a "special situation on the home front" in response to the back-and-forth strikes with Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, saying the move can restrict gatherings to increase Israelis' safety during the battle.
On the call, he told Austin that Israeli forces knew Hezbollah planned to attack it tonight for its assassination of a top commander last month and thus launched its preemptive operation, according to a statement provided by the Israel’s defense ministry.
“We have conducted precise strikes in Lebanon in order to thwart an imminent threat against the citizens of Israel," he told Austin. "We are closely following developments in Beirut, and we are determined to use all the means at our disposal in order to defend our citizens."
Both men discussed the importance of avoiding regional escalation in Israel's ongoing war with Hamas militants in Gaza, with whom Iran and Hezbollah sympathize, according to the defense ministry.
Austin "reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s defense against any attacks by Iran and its regional partners and proxies," according to a readout of the call provided by Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder.
Israel had evidence Hezbollah was about to attack, military spokesperson says
Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a statement today that leaders believed Hezbollah was preparing to attack.
"We conducted preemptive strikes after seeing Hezbollah starting to get ready to attack us," he said. "We will do all it takes to protect Israel."
He urged Israelis to be vigilant. "People can go out as long as there is shelter nearby," he said.
Israelis stage heavy airstrikes in Lebanon as Hezbollah launches drone attack on Israel
Israel launched a series of intense airstrikes in southern Lebanon early Sunday in what it said was a pre-emptive strike against the Hezbollah militant group, threatening to trigger a broader regionwide war that could torpedo efforts to forge a cease-fire in Gaza.
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 Fouad Shukur, a top commander with the group, in a strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs last month.