“Whoever hurts us, we will hurt him“This is what the Israeli Prime Minister warned on Sunday, Benjamin Netanyahuwho assured that he will do “everything possible to protect the country” after the wave of large-scale attacks this morning by the Israeli air force against positions of the terrorist group Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“This morning we detected Hezbollah’s preparations to attack Israel. In consultation with the Minister of Defense and the Chief of Staff, we ordered the Israel Defense Forces to act proactively to eliminate the threat.“, the Prime Minister explained at the start of his meeting with the security cabinet to address the situation.
Netanyahu stressed that The Army has worked “vigorously” to thwart the threatsdestroying thousands of rockets and acting “with full force both in defense and attack.”
The Army reported this morning that it had used some 100 planes of its Air Force to destroy thousands of Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon, which were aimed at the north but also some at central Israel – where major cities such as Tel Aviv or Jerusalem-, in addition to some 40 group positions.
“We are determined to do everything possible to protect our country.return the residents of the north safe and sound to their homes and continue to uphold a simple rule: whoever harms us, we will harm him,” Netanyahu stressed.
Israel seeks support
Israeli Foreign Minister, Israel Katzcalled dozens of foreign ministers from various countries on Sunday to ask for their support following the preemptive attack against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
Katz said his country had attacked “preemptively” after detecting a plan by the armed group to massively attack Israel with drones and missiles, according to a statement from his office.
“The minister stressed that Israel acts to protect its citizens and its territory against the axis of evil led by Iran, which has a declared goal of destroying Israel.“, he said.
Israel and Hezbollah’s attack during the early morning
The Israeli air force attacked some 40 positions of the Lebanese Shiite group in southern Lebanon early Sunday morning, from where thousands of rocket launchers were preparing to launch a large-scale attack against northern and central Israel, according to the army.
Hezbollah, for its part, announced the start of a large-scale “air raid” of retaliation against Israel with “a large number of drones” that are aimed at “qualitative Israeli targets” inside the country.
Although the situation is still changing, the Israeli army’s international press spokesman, Nothing Shoshanisaid at a press conference that so far minor damage has been detected in the north of the country.
Already in the midst of the exchange of fire, the Israeli Minister of Defense declared the state of military emergency which gives the Army the power to “give instructions to the citizens of Israel, such as limiting gatherings and closing places when relevant.”
He Ben Gurion International Airport, The country’s largest airport, located on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, remained closed for a few hours in a measure to protect national airspace.
For his part, the Lebanese Prime Minister, Nayib Mikaticalled an emergency meeting of his cabinet at 10:30 a.m. local time at his home in Beirut “following the events of the last few hours” in a meeting “open to all ministers who can attend.”
Source: Ambito
