The Hezbollah terror group says it has fired more than 320 rockets at northern Israel in the past few hours, along with several explosive-laden drones.
In a statement, Hezbollah claims to have targeted 11 military bases in northern Israel.
A video circulating online shows a Hezbollah drone impacting a highway in northern Israel.
IDF Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says the military continues to thwart Hezbollah’s prepared attacks on the country.
“We are removing threats to the Israeli home front. Dozens of planes are now attacking targets in different areas of southern Lebanon,” Hagari says in a press conference.
“Hezbollah is firing rockets and drones at Israel. Our air defense systems, Navy ships and Air Force planes are protecting the country’s skies, identifying and intercepting threats, and striking anywhere in Lebanon, where it is necessary to remove threats and hit Hezbollah,” he says.
The preemptive strikes Israel conducted on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon targeted launchers that had been programmed to fire projectiles at 5 a.m., The New York Times reports.
Those strikes were launched around 4:45 a.m.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has declared an emergency situation in the country for the next 48 hours.
The “special situation in the home front” enables the IDF Home Front Command to issue restrictions.
Hezbollah says drones fired as response for Shukr killing begins; over 100 rockets said launched
Hezbollah says it has begun its response to the killing of the terror group’s military commander Fuad Shukr in an IDF strike last month.
In a statement, Hezbollah says it launched several explosive drones at Israel, targeting military sites.
The Saudi-owned Al Arabiya outlet reports that more than 100 rockets have also been launched at northern Israel from Lebanon so far.
The IDF says it has detected preparations by Hezbollah to launch rockets and missiles and is preemptively striking in Lebanon “to remove the threat.”
Fighter jets are striking Hezbollah targets that “posed an imminent threat to the citizens of the State of Israel,” the army says, adding that “life-saving instructions” will be sent out in some parts of the country.
Alarms are meanwhile sounding in several northern communities.
In a video statement, IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says: “A short while ago, the IDF identified the Hezbollah terrorist organization preparing to fire missiles and rockets toward Israeli territory.”
“In a self-defense act to remove these threats, the IDF is striking terror targets in Lebanon, from which Hezbollah was planning to launch their attacks on Israeli civilians,” he says.
“Hezbollah will soon fire rockets, and possibly missiles and UAVs, towards Israeli territory. We will shortly update the Home Front Command Defensive guidelines for those in Israel,” Hagari continues.
“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. We warn the civilians located in the areas where Hezbollah is operating, to move out of harm’s way immediately for their own safety,” he says.
Hagari says that “Hezbollah’s ongoing aggression risks dragging the people of Lebanon, the people of Israel and the whole region into a wider escalation. Israel will not tolerate Hezbollah’s attacks on our civilians.
“We are operating in self-defense from Hezbollah — and any other enemy that joins in their attacks against us — and we are ready to do everything we need to defend the people of Israel,” he adds.
Some 40 strikes reported in Lebanon; residents of Israel’s north told to stay near shelters
Lebanese media reports around 40 Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, after the IDF said it was preemptively hitting Hezbollah targets following indications of an imminent major attack.
Residents of all northern border communities and towns in the Golan Heights have been ordered by the IDF to stay near bomb shelters and avoid unnecessary movements and gatherings, as a precaution for a possible Hezbollah attack. Agricultural work in the area has also been halted.
IDF says it foiled part of Hezbollah’s response to Shukr killing; braces for drone, missile attacks
The Israeli military says it identified overnight preparations in Hezbollah’s rocket array for a major and immediate attack on Israel. Fighter jets are now working to remove the threat.
The preemptive strikes specifically targeted the sites that would have been used in the attack from southern Lebanon.
The IDF believes the attack would have been part of Hezbollah’s response to the killing of the terror group’s military commander Fuad Shukr last month.
The IDF is tracking other parts of Hezbollah, and is readying for potential drone and even missile attacks on the country.
Series of sirens sound in north as numerous Iron Dome interceptors launched
Incoming rocket and suspected drone sirens are sounding in the Western Galilee.
Sirens also sound in the Mount Meron area in the Upper Galilee.
Footage posted to social media shows numerous Iron Dome interceptor missiles being launched to counter the attack from Lebanon.
The alerts come as the IDF launches preemptive strikes on Hezbollah after identifying preparations by the terror group to carry out a major attack on Israel
More alerts sound in Acre and Kiryat Shmona
Fresh sirens are sounding in the northern coastal city of Acre, as well as in the mostly evacuated Lebanon border city of Kiryat Shmona.
Acre is located some 19 kilometers from the Lebanon border.
The sirens in Acre are activated due to interceptor missiles being launched at suspected drones in the area, rather than rocket fire, according to initial reports.
Israel Launches Preemptive Strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon - LIVE Breaking News Coverage
Alarms continue to blare across northern Israel
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