"Self-Defence": Israel Says Fired On Lebanon To Prevent Hezbollah Attack

Israel today said that is launched strikes inside Lebanon as a "self-defence act" to prevent a Hezbollah attack on civilians, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said. The military also warned Israelis to expect incoming missiles and drones launched by Hezbollah, with air alert sirens sounding across the country's north.

The IDF claimed that they had information that Hezbollah was preparing to fire missiles and rockets toward Israeli territory.

"The IDF identified the Hezbollah terrorist organization preparing to fire missiles and rockets toward Israeli territory. In response to these threats, the IDF is striking terror targets in Lebanon. Israeli Air Force fighter jets are currently striking targets belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization that posed an imminent threat to the citizens of the State of Israel," IDF said in a statement.

Israel's international Ben Gurion airport has canceled all take-offs and landings for several hours, the country's airport authority said.

“Due to the security situation, the morning departures from Ben Gurion International Airport will be postponed, and will not take off in the next few hours,” the authority said. “Flights en route to Ben Gurion will be directed to land at alternative airports in the region.”

The Middle East has been on edge for weeks after Hezbollah and Iran vowed to respond to an Israeli strike in Beirut that killed a senior commander of the group as well as the assassination in Tehran of Hamas's political leader, also blamed on Israel.

The strikes came as negotiators were meeting in Cairo in a last-ditch effort to conclude a halt to fighting in Gaza and a return of Israeli and foreign hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel immediately after the October 7 attacks by Hamas gunmen on Israel. Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire constantly ever since, while avoiding a major escalation as war rages in Gaza to the south.

That precarious balance appeared to shift after the strike in the Golan Heights, for which Hezbollah denied responsibility, and the subsequent assassination of Fuad Shukr, a senior military commander in Beirut.