Israeli jets have launched airstrikes in Lebanon after their military said Hezbollah was preparing to fire rockets and missiles towards Israel.
Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said: ‘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.
Hagari warned Hezbollah would ‘soon fire rockets, and possibly missiles and’ drones into Israel.
Sirens began sounding in northern Israel soon after the warning, and additional sirens later joined in across the north.
Lebanese media reported strikes in the country’s south without immediately providing more details. Social media footage showed what appeared to be strikes in southern Lebanon.
Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport outside Tel Aviv began diverting incoming flights and delaying others due to takeoff Sunday after the Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon.
Israeli media cited the Israel Airports Authority for the news. Flight-tracking data showed at least two El Al flights swinging far south and diverting after the announcement.
In his statement, Hagari added: ‘We can see that Hezbollah is preparing to launch an extensive attack on Israel, while endangering the Lebanese civilians.
‘We warn the civilians located in the areas where Hezbollah is operating to move out of harm’s way immediately for their own safety’. Hagari didn’t provide additional details on the intelligence he cited.
While the IDF X page added: ‘Hezbollah has just launched over 150 projectiles from Lebanon toward Israeli territory. We target terrorist infrastructure, they target civilians.’
Fears have been high in recent weeks that the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip could escalate into a regional conflict after an Israeli strike killed a senior Hezbollah commander and a suspected Israeli assassination operation in Iran killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
