Hezbollah forces claimed on Sunday that the first round of operations was "successful" after the Lebanon-based group and Israeli forces engaged in extensive exchanges of fire along their border, amid international community's call for de-escalating the situation.
Hezbollah announced it had launched hundreds of missiles into Israel in retaliation for the killing of its commander, Fouad Shokor, in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut last month. In response, Israel reported conducting numerous preemptive airstrikes targeting Hezbollah's rocket launchers in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) reported that around 100 Air Force fighter jets carried out preemptive strikes on Hezbollah rocket launchers. However, these attacks did not prevent Hezbollah from launching a large-scale assault on Israeli targets.
Hezbollah reported firing over 320 rockets and drones at northern Israel, while the IDF confirmed that about 210 rockets and 20 drones were launched from Lebanon, with some intercepted and others causing damage and injuries.
In a televised speech on Sunday, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah dismissed Israel's claim of a "preemptive" action, saying that the Hezbollah set the attack time at 05:15 and all Hezbollah's launch positions had not been attacked by the Israeli side before that time.
On Sunday evening, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that at least six Hezbollah operatives were killed in the Israeli Air Force's airstrikes in southern Lebanon early Sunday morning. Over the past week, about 30 Hezbollah fighters, including commanders, had been killed by the IDF, he added.
An Israeli Navy soldier was killed during cross-border airstrikes between Israel and Hezbollah on Sunday, the IDF said in a statement.
The IDF identified the soldier as David Moshe Ben Shitrit, 21, from Geva Binyamin in the occupied West Bank, adding that he was killed "during combat in northern Israel." The cause is still under investigation, the IDF said.
Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant described the preemptive strikes as successful and aimed at destabilizing Hezbollah. He also said that the IDF's actions sent a message that Israel is determined to eliminate any threat at any time and in any place.
However, media have been informed that Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged information through intermediaries, and the intense conflict of the day has "ended". Both sides are reportedly not interested in full-scale war and wish to prevent further escalation of the situation.
Additionally, on Sunday evening, the IDF announced in a statement that it would hold a military exercise in eastern Galilee on Monday. The statement noted that this exercise is part of the IDF's 2024 annual training plan and is intended to prepare for various threats. It also mentioned that the exercise will simulate confrontations with enemy forces.
On Sunday evening, during a phone conversation with Gallant, the U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reaffirmed support for Israel and ordered the presence of two aircraft carrier strike groups in the region.
Meanwhile, the international community has called on both sides to deescalate the situation.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was "deeply concerned" over the exchanges of fire across the Blue Line -- the Lebanon-Israel frontier, his spokesman said on Sunday.
"The secretary-general is deeply concerned by the significant increase in the exchanges of fire across the Blue Line," Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN chief, said in a statement.
"These actions put both the Lebanese and Israeli populations at risk, as well as threatening regional security and stability," the statement said.
Guterres called for immediate de-escalation and urged the parties to "urgently and immediately" return to a cessation of hostilities and fully implement UN Security Council resolution 1701, it added.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and visiting Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Charles Brown discussed on Sunday the ongoing developments in the Middle East amid escalation along Israel-Lebanon borders.
During the meeting, Sisi emphasized that the current regional situation demands decisive action from the international community and all relevant parties to exert every effort and intensify pressure to defuse tensions, the Egyptian Presidency said in a statement.
He said that efforts also need to be made to halt the escalation threatening the security and stability of the entire region, warning of the dangers of opening a new front in Lebanon.
The Jordanian foreign ministry says Israeli aggression in Gaza has exposed the region to risks of a wider conflict.
Yemen's Houthi group on Sunday publicly commended Hezbollah's rocket attacks on Israel earlier in the day, calling it a "large and courageous attack."
In a statement released by the political bureau of the Houthis, the armed group said Hezbollah's "strong response" demonstrated its sincerity in fulfilling its promises and threats.
Expressing solidarity with Hezbollah, the Houthi political bureau voiced its support for all options and operations aimed at responding to Israel.
The group reiterated that a Yemeni response to recent Israeli actions is "inevitably coming."
Hezbollah claims first round of operations 'successful' in exchanges of fire with Israel
Hezbollah claims first round of operations 'successful' in exchanges of fire with Israel
Hezbollah claims first round of operations 'successful' in exchanges of fire with Israel
