The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are depicting their air strikes as a pre-emptive action in the face of an imminent Hezbollah missile and rocket attack, and warned an “extensive” Hezbollah response is imminent. The all-important question now is whether the cycle of escalation can be contained before it becomes an all-out war.
The Israeli news agency Ynet cited reports from Lebanon saying the air force struck 40 targets, and that Hezbollah fired what it claimed were 150 rockets in sustained barrages into northern Israel. Israel is now braced for Hezbollah to use its longer-range missiles against Israeli cities further south.
The IDF spokesman, Daniel Hagari, said:
Hezbollah will soon fire rockets, and possibly missiles and UAVs [drones], towards Israeli territory.
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 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. Hezbollah’s ongoing aggression risks dragging the people of Lebanon, the people of Israel, and the whole region, into a wider escalation.
The scale of Israel’s response to any such attack will also help determine whether this escalation on its northern border can be contained or not.
