West Asia Crisis Update: The Israeli military launched a pre-emptive strike in Lebanon on Sunday (August 25) to thwart a major attack by the Iran-backed terrorist organization Hezbollah. Residents of areas in southern Lebanon where Hezbollah mainly operates have been warned of the attack and urged to “leave immediately.”
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The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had discovered Hezbollah preparing to launch rockets and missiles.
25 August 2024 12:28 PM IST
Jordan's Royal Jordanian Airlines has suspended flights to the Lebanese capital Beirut following Israel's preemptive strikes on southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah fighters are based.
25 August 2024 12:11 PM IST
Hezbollah said its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, would speak late Sunday to refute Israeli claims that its forces had thwarted the group's attacks. The Iran-backed group also confirmed that military operations had ended for the day.
The group denied Israel's claim of a successful pre-emptive strike against Hezbollah forces, saying in a statement that “this is an empty claim.”
25 August 2024 11:35 AM IST
White House National Security Council spokesman Sean Sabet said President Joe Biden was “closely monitoring” the situation in Israel and Lebanon.
“He was liaising with his national security team throughout the night,” Savett said.
“He is engaged with the nation and, at his direction, U.S. officials are in ongoing contact with their Israeli counterparts. We continue to support Israel's right to self-defense and will continue to work for stability in the region.”
25 August 2024 11:31 AM IST
The Lebanese government claimed one resident was killed in the Israeli attack in the south of the country.
25 August 2024 11:23 AM IST
More than 100 Israeli fighter jets reportedly participated in the preemptive strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon, and thousands of rockets and missile launchers were destroyed in attacks targeting 40 launch sites in southern Lebanon.
25 August 2024, 11:17 AM IST
“This morning we became aware of Hezbollah preparing to attack Israel. After consulting with the defense minister and the IDF chief of staff, I have instructed the IDF to act aggressively to eliminate the threat,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
“The IDF has since been intensively working to thwart the threat, destroying thousands of rockets aimed at the north of the country and disrupting many other threats, proving itself a formidable defensive and offensive force.”
“We are committed to doing all we can to protect our country and to bring northerners safely back to their homes, and we will continue to follow a simple rule: whoever tries to harm us, we will harm them.”
25 August 2024, 10:41 AM IST
According to the Israel Defense Forces, Hezbollah was planning an attack on central Israel on Sunday morning (August 25), but a pre-emptive military strike thwarted the plan.
25 August 2024, 10:25 AM IST
Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israel's attacks in southern Lebanon on Sunday were the “most violent” since the war in Gaza began in October.
25 August 2024, 10:18 AM IST
Hezbollah has fired hundreds of rockets into northern Israel, sending rocket warning sirens wailing.
25 August 2024, 10:04 AM IST
The Pentagon said the US was “positioned to assist” in the defense of Tel Aviv and reiterated its support for Israel.
“We continue to monitor the situation closely and have made clear that the United States stands by its defense of Israel,” a Pentagon spokesman said in a statement.
25 August 2024 09:58 AM IST
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a cabinet meeting early on Sunday following the announcement of the launch of attacks on Lebanon targeting Hezbollah strongholds.
25 August 2024 9:40 AM IST
The Iran-backed group said it had fired “more than 320” Katyusha rockets at Israel, especially as Tel Aviv engages in an artillery battle with Hezbollah on Lebanon's southern border in parallel with the Gaza war, as the escalation in hostilities raises the threat of a full-scale regional war.
25 August 2024 09:39 AM IST
Following Israel's preemptive strikes, Hezbollah also announced it had launched attacks in northern Israel.
“As part of our initial response to the brutal Zionist aggression in the southern suburbs of Beirut, which led to the death of great jihadist leader Fouad Shukr, our forces have launched massive airstrikes against Zionist entities and specific Israeli military targets to be announced,” Hezbollah said.
25 August 2024 09:31 AM IST
After Israel launched a so-called pre-emptive strike on Lebanon, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared a 48-hour nationwide state of emergency starting at 6 a.m. on Sunday (3 a.m. GMT).
“The state of emergency allows the IDF (Israeli military) to issue instructions to Israeli citizens, including limiting gatherings and closing related facilities,” Gallant said in a statement released by his office.
25 August 2024 09:27 AM IST
“The warplanes are currently striking targets of the Hezbollah terrorist organization which pose an imminent threat inside Israel,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
“Following these attacks, rescue orders will be issued in some parts of the country following situation assessment by the Home Front Command,” it added.
IDF spokesman Maj. Gen. Daniel Hagari said Tel Aviv launched the attack in self-defense because it expected Hezbollah to soon fire “rockets, and possibly missiles or drones, towards Israeli territory.”
25 August 2024 09:26 AM IST
Anticipating rocket and drone attacks from Hezbollah, Israel has launched strikes against the Iranian-backed terrorist group in southern Lebanon.
