Lebanon's Hezbollah announced that it launched a major attack using rockets and drones on Israeli positions early in the morning on Sunday (August 25) in response to the killing of a top commander. Israel, in turn, carried out what it described as pre-emptive strikes against the group. Hezbollah reported that over 320 Katyusha rockets had been fired at Israeli positions so far.
The group stated that 11 Israeli bases and barracks were targeted, including some in the Golan Heights, which Israel has annexed. The Iran-backed Hezbollah movement has been exchanging fire with Israel in support of Hamas since the Palestinian militant group’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which led to the conflict in Gaza. However, concerns about a larger conflict intensified after Iran and Hezbollah vowed to retaliate for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and an Israeli strike that killed senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in south Beirut last month.
According to Hezbollah, their latest attack was only a first response to Shukr’s killing. The group claimed that the ‘first phase’ of their operation was “completely successful”, aiming to target Israeli barracks and positions to clear the way for attack drones to reach deeper targets within Israel. The Israeli military reported that approximately 100 warplanes were used to carry out the airstrikes, targeting numerous rocket launch sites across southern Lebanon.
By mid-morning, the exchange of fire seemed to have .