No indication second phase of Hezbollah retaliation imminent
Hezbollah says it carried out its much-awaited and promised retaliation for the killing of its top commander in late July. Israeli media are saying it appears that Hezbollah did strike a strategic target.
The Israeli army is saying it carried out preemptive strikes, destroying rocket launchers across southern Lebanon. It was one of the biggest attacks carried out by the Israeli military since the start of this conflict – a widespread attack targeting up to 40 locations.
In the past hour or so, there have been two further strikes by the Israeli military: one targeting a car behind me in the border village of Khiam, killing a Hezbollah fighter, and an overnight attack in which two Hezbollah fighters were killed.
So it seems that this round is over, but Hezbollah is saying this is just the beginning of its promised retaliation. But there is no indication to suggest that a second phase is imminent.
Of late, Israel has been acting with little restraint in Lebanon, taking out Hezbollah assets, whether it’s critical infrastructure, whether it’s fighters, not just along the border but deep inside Lebanon in the east.
But the messaging from Israel since the early hours of the morning is that the ball is now in Hezbollah’s court when it comes to further escalation because we heard the Israeli military spokesman say at least three times they acted in self-defence.
Israeli military says it struck more Hezbollah targets
Israel’s military said it carried out further attacks against Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon hours after it announced a preemptive strike against the Lebanese group.
UN official, peacekeepers in Lebanon urge ‘all to cease fire’
In a statement, the Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL) and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) described the developments on the Lebanon-Israel border as “worrying”. They called on all parties to cease fire and refrain from further escalation.
Lebanon is working to ease tensions: PM Mikati
Following a ministerial meeting, the Lebanese prime minister says efforts are being made to “stop the escalation”, adding that “what is required is to stop the Israeli aggression first”.
Mikati made the statement after the meeting to follow up on the developments in the south of the country, after Hezbollah and Israel’s army exchanged new attacks.
The aftermath of Hezbollah’s retaliatory attack on Israel
Official property surveyors assess the damage to a residential building following a direct hit from a projectile in northern Israel on August 25
A view of a damaged residential building in Acre, northern Israel, August 25
‘You don’t interest us’: Northern Israeli leaders fume at gov’t
Leaders of regional councils in areas across northern Israel which have been targeted by Hezbollah have said they are cutting off contact with the government in protest to being neglected.
“We haven’t interested you for 10-and-a-half months, and from now on, you don’t interest us. Don’t call, don’t come, don’t send messages. We have managed alone until now, we will manage,” reads a joint statement by Mateh Asher Regional Council head Moshe Davidovich, Metula Mayor David Azoulay, and Upper Galilee Regional Council head Giora Zaltz, according to The Times of Israel.
The regional leaders have repeatedly called for a reliable plan to bring tens of thousands of Israeli citizens who have been displaced from the north amid the escalating conflict.
The leaders are also angry because the Israeli military has not engaged in large-scale “preemptive strikes” on Lebanon in defence of northern communities, as it did today after perceiving that Hezbollah may be considering hitting central Israel.
A member of a rapid response team walks near a residential building in northern Israel that was damaged by a direct hit from a projectile, after Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones
‘Yemeni response is coming’: Houthis praise Hezbollah attacks
The Houthis have congratulated Hezbollah’s leaders for the “major” attacks on Israeli positions.
“This powerful and effective response deep within the entity that remains vulnerable reaffirms that the resistance is capable, steadfast, and sincere in its promises and threats,” the Houthis’ political bureau said in a statement.
“We stand by the hands and shoulders of the heroes of the Islamic resistance, congratulate and support all options and retaliatory operations against the Zionist enemy. “We also reaffirm that the Yemeni response is inevitably coming, and the coming days and nights and the battlefield will prove this.”
حـ.ـزب الله ينشر فيديو لقواعد وثكنات إسرائيلية يقول إنه استهدفها في المرحلة الأولى من ردّه على اغتيال فؤاد شكر، في الضاحية الجنوبية لبيروت #حرب_غزة #فيديو pic.twitter.com/5ynCUBIVV0
— الجزيرة فلسطين (@AJA_Palestine) August 25, 2024
Translation: Hezbollah publishes a video of Israeli bases and barracks that it says it targeted in the first phase of its response to the assassination of Fuad Shukr in a southern suburb of Beirut.
Netanyahu says strikes against Hezbollah ‘not end of the story’
Israel’s prime minister says his country took pre-emptive action against Hezbollah and air defences had intercepted all rockets and drones launched against Israel.
He said in his opening remarks for the cabinet meeting that the leaders of Hezbollah and Iran should know that the response was “another step towards changing the situation in the north and returning our residents safely to their homes”.
“This is not the end of the story,” he added.
Hezbollah response ‘delayed by political considerations’
A Hezbollah official has said that the group’s rocket and drone attack against Israel in retaliation for a top commander’s killing last month was delayed by “political considerations”, chiefly among them the ongoing talks on a ceasefire and captive-prisoner exchange deal for Gaza.
The official, in written comments shared with media outlets, said the group had “worked” to make sure its response to the killing of Fuad Shukr on July 30 would not trigger a full-scale war.
