We begin with breaking news.
Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport has suspended operations, delaying incoming
flights after the military launched a series of strikes towards
Lebanon.
Israeli forces say they've launched pre emptive strikes on the
Hezbollah positions after accusing the armed group of preparing to
launch an extensive attack.
Well, these are images of the overnight Israeli air strikes
in southern Lebanon.
There's been concern in recent weeks that Hezbollah, along with
Iran, were planning to retaliate after the assassination of Hamas
political chief Ismail Hanya in Tehran and a senior Hezbollah
commander in Beirut.
And these are images coming from northern Israel in the
aftermath of those strikes on Lebanon.
It appears to show Israel's Iron Dome defence system activating
in the skies over the border region.
Sirens are also going off in the area.
And the Israeli security cabinet has called for an emergency
meeting that's meant to take place in about an hour
or so.
Well, Al Jazeera, Zaina Hodder joins me on the phone
now from Beirut.
Zaina, so Israel says this is a pre emptive strike
to prevent Hezbollah attacking Israeli territory.
What more can you tell us?
What are you hearing there?
Well, Israel has carried out a significant aerial attack in
a number of areas in southern Lebanon.
What we're getting are reports of at least 40 strikes.
So a widespread preemptive attack.
That's how the Israeli army is calling this a preemptive
attack against Hezbollah.
It is claiming that it learned that Hezbollah was planning
an attack and that there was overnight preparations in Hezbollah's
rocket array for a major and immediate attack on Israel.
So that's what the army is saying and that the
fighter jets are removing the threat.
Now, Hezbollah has promised to retaliate for the killing of
its top commander, Fadshuker.
On July the 30th.
He was killed in an Israeli strike in the heart
of Beirut, which really, even though he was a military
target, the targeting in the heart of Beirut violated the
unwritten rules of engagement with which both sides really have
been sticking to and their ongoing confrontation.
So since then, Hezbollah has been promising a response.
And since then, there has been an intensification of the
conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.
We've seen more frequency and attacks, more sustained attacks by
both parties now there.
There were nonstop strikes in southern Lebanon, but we are
also getting reports of Hezbollah firing back using drones and
rockets and that there have been alerts across northern Israel.
This is and has been a very dangerous conflict.
Even though largely contained, there is really concern that it
could expand and spiral out of control.
We are expected to hear from the Israeli army spokesperson
shortly.
There are reports that this could the initial wave, if
you like, of of attacks in South in southern Lebanon
has now ended.
So we're waiting to hear from the Israeli army to
see whether or not these preemptive strikes end here or
whether they plan to carry out more strikes which could
in in turn trigger a Hezbollah response and expand this
conflict.
Yeah, Zain, as you say, the strikes seem pretty extensive.
Just talk us through where in southern Lebanon did did
they take place?
Well, most of the strikes were in the border area
up to five kilometre deep.
Territory along the 120 kilometre border is now a military
zone.
It's been evacuated of civilians.
It's been repeatedly, repeatedly hit by the Israeli army in
in recent months.
Much of the the villages along that border have been
levelled to the ground, but Hezbollah is still present there.
And but as of late as well too has been
striking what it calls Hezbollah targets deeper inside, inside Lebanon,
across southern Lebanon.
And just a few days ago, there was a targeted
assassination in the southern city of Saida.
This is 40 kilometers South of Beirut.
Another strategy that Israel has been employing in in recent
months is targeted killings, taking out members and commanders of
Hezbollah, not just Hezbollah, but other groups, Palestinian groups that
are allied with Hezbollah.
Remember, Hezbollah opened this front, opened up this front in
October to help its ally Hamas in Gaza.
And Hezbollah has repeatedly said it will not stop or
halt firing until there's a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
So this conflict will continue and will remain a dangerous
conflict as long as the war in Gaza continues.
And without that ceasefire, there can be no diplomatic solution
to this conflict.
Israel, Western nations have sent their envoys to Lebanon in
recent months to try to find a diplomatic arrangement, but
their efforts have failed.
So this is a very dangerous conflict.
Is this just an initial wave of attacks and this
preemptive operation is over?
And we go back to what have we been witnessing
in recent months, this sporadic escalation, 2 to 3 days
of escalation and then two to three days of calm?
Or are we going to witness a very new and
different phase in this conflict, which is going to involve
more violence, more sustained strikes and much expanded conflict?
Yeah.
Zain, as you say, Israel and Hezbollah have been trading
rocket and artillery attacks since the start of the Gaza
war last October.
Just remind our viewers of the background to that.
And how serious is this specific escalation?
Well, this escalation no doubt is, is is serious because
it's not the first time Israel has carried out intensive
strikes such as what we've witnessed.
Yes, maybe the number is more than on previous occasions,
but Israel has carried out significant aerial attacks on Lebanon
in the in the past ten months targeting various locations
near simultaneously.
Last week, we had major attacks in the Bekaa region,
that's in the east of the country, very close to
the Syrian border, that's kilometers away from the main battleground
along the border.
And Israel targeted Hezbollah's weapons depots in in that area.
So Israel has really carried out significant aerial attacks on
this country in the past.
But the timing Israel is claiming now that Hezbollah was
preparing for a major and, quote, immediate attack on Israel
for the killing of their commander for Ashoka.
Will this mean that following these strikes, Hezbollah will carry
out this, this major attack?
It has promised to do so.
And if it does, will this trigger even more harsh
retaliation from Israel?
Look, Hezbollah has repeatedly said time and time again through
its words, through its actions, that it doesn't want a
full on war with Israel.
It opened this front for a reason.
It said it opened up this front in solidarity with
Gaza.
It believes that by targeting areas in northern Israel, creating
a military zone displacing 10s of thousands of people, puts
enough pressure on the Israeli government.
And they also believe that by bogging down divisions of
the Israeli army in the north, it will relieve military
pressure on Gaza.
The the Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah himself has said this
time and time again, but the intentions of Israel is
what everybody questions in Lebanon.
Here there is a feeling that Israel is looking for,
quote, any excuse to widen the conflict and to carry
out more strikes and to divert attention from what they
believe is Israel's defeat in Gaza.
Even the Israeli defense minister a few days ago said
that the the attention is now moving from the southern
front to the northern front, and that means to, to,
to its fight with, with Hezbollah.
But what Israel has been doing in recent months really
is using this as an opportunity to degrade the military
capabilities of Hezbollah by targeting its weapons, the pose, its
rocket launchers, its infrastructure, its fighters.
It's Lebanon has become a very similar battlefield as Syria.
In Syria, Israel has repeatedly targeted Iranian and Iranian linked
assets for years now, and many are now comparing that
battlefield to the Lebanon battlefield.
And in many ways, Israel is acting with little restraint,
which puts pressure on Hezbollah to create a new deterrence
equation.
And when you have this situation where Israel acts with
no restraint and Hezbollah needing to impose some sort of
deterrence, that is when the situation does become dangerous because
it means Hezbollah will need to to act, it will
need to respond.
And after it does that, what will Israel do in
return?
So no doubt, again, this conflict, a new turning point,
yet a new dangerous phase.
And we've seen this time and time again in the
past ten months.
But if these initial strikes or this initial wave, if
you like, has ended and this round is over, maybe
there will be calm.
But for how long is the question.
Yeah.
And and just to remind our viewers, Zaina, you know,
you talk about this growing concern that Hezbollah and Iran
were preparing or would prepare a retaliatory strike against Israel
after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran
and that senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut.
How much are those concerns playing out here tonight?
Well, no doubt many Lebanese have been on on the
edge.
They are concerned this is a country which has seen
years of political instability and this is a country that's
witnessed the financial collapse five years ago.
And it is still reeling from that financial, financial collapse.
People have lost their savings in, in in bank.
And you, you, what people talk about almost every day
is what are we going to do in the event
of this conflict widening, expanding.
We don't have money or savings to be able to
rent apartments outside of Beirut or areas which would be
considered safer than than Beirut.
People have started, some people have started to stockpile on
water and food, Hotels, the hotels are now empty.
This is the tourist season.
People were expecting expats to return home and tourists to
bring in much needed hard currency.
You know, the taxi driver in the street tells you,
Oh my, you're, you're my first customer in two hours.
People have left the capital because Israel has threatened in
the past and it has hit Beirut southern suburbs in
the past, which is considered a Hezbollah stronghold.
In fact, that was where Israel killed the top commander
for Add Sugar on July the 30th.
People have moved out of that area, you know, so,
so people are concerned about what will happen and people
are concerned about making ends meet.
A lot of people rely on, you know, day-to-day work.
So there there there is concern.
A lot of airlines had cancelled their their their flights
to Lebanon.
Now we're hearing that Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv
has suspended and and postponed all flights as a result
of of of these of these of the situation.
So yes, there is concern, but there are others who
will say that they believe that any escalation will be
controlled simply because both parties is well and Hezbollah know
the consequences of of of, you know, of widening this
conflict.
Yes, Israel can hurt Hezbollah, but Hezbollah too has long
range precision guided missiles that can strike anywhere in Israel.
At the moment, rockets have not been landing in Haifa,
Israel's third largest city, which is approximately 3040 kilometers from
the border, which Hezbollah can easily target.
Rockets have not been falling on on Tel Aviv so
and so far both sides have avoided targeting population centers
very much.
You know, I surgical strikes, but there's no doubt civilians
have been caught in the crossfire in this conflict.
100 and more than 130 civilians on the side of
the border have been killed in the ongoing hostilities.
21 paramedics as well have been killed.
They have not been spared every time, you know, some
of them have been deliberately hit as they enter the
military zone very close to the border to to remove,
you know, bodies underneath the rubble.
So this is a conflict that has had an impact
and felt across the country even though it has been
largely confined to the border area.
Zaina, stay with us, won't you?
Because the Israeli army has reacted.
Their spokesman Daniel Hagari said that Israel is acting in
self defence from Hezbollah.
Let's just listen to hear what he said.
A short while ago, the IDF identified he's a ballot
terrorist organization preparing to fire missiles, rockets towards Israeli territory
in a self defence 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.
This follows more than 6700 rockets, missiles and explosive Uevs
fired by Hezbollah and Israeli families, homes and communities since
October 8th.
Hezbollah will soon fire rockets and possibly missiles and Uevs
towards Israeli territory.
We will shortly update the Home Front Command defensive guidelines
for those in Israel 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 warned the civilians located in the areas where Hezbollah
is operating to move out of harm's way immediately for
their own safety.
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, everything we need to defend
the people of Israel.