Israeli President Isaac Herzog said that Israeli strikes on Lebanon early Sunday “epitomized” the country’s right to self-defense.
”The decisive action we witnessed early this morning epitomizes Israel’s right and duty to defend itself and its citizens against the threat of terrorism,” Herzog wrote on X. He also thanked Israelis serving in the country’s military.
Herzog’s statement followed the Israeli military launching preemptive strikes against what it said were “terror targets in Lebanon” after it claimed to have identified Hezbollah “preparing to fire missiles and rockets toward Israeli territory.”
The Islamist militant group called the accusations “baseless.” Hezbollah responded with strikes of its own, which it said was the “first phase” of its response to Israel. Hezbollah called the salvo a “complete success.”
Sunday morning in the Middle East began with a massive exchange of fire between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, escalating tensions between the sides which had spiked after the October 7 terror attack on Israel.
Israeli strikes on Lebanon continued on Sunday, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency, which reported multiple airstrikes in villages around the town of Marjayoun in southern Lebanon.
It also said that Israeli warplanes were flying over the western and central areas of southern Lebanon, as far north as the Litani River, some 20 kilometers from Israel’s northern border.
Israel has confirmed carrying out further strikes, saying it struck a terrorist cell and rocket launchers across southern Lebanon.
The two UN agencies that work extensively in southern Lebanon – UNIFIL and UNSCOL – issued a statement Sunday saying: “In light of worrying developments across the Blue Line since the early morning, UNSCOL and UNIFIL call on all to cease fire and refrain from further escalatory action.”
The “Blue Line” is a demarcation line set by the United Nations in 2000 after Israel withdrew its military from southern Lebanon.
“A return to the cessation of hostilities… Is the only sustainable way forward,” the agencies said.
