ISRAEL LAUNCHED A series of intense airstrikes in southern Lebanon early this morning in what it said was a pre-emptive strike against the Hezbollah militant group, threatening to trigger a broader region-wide war that could torpedo efforts to forge a ceasefire in Gaza.

Air raid sirens were reported throughout northern Israel, and Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport began diverting incoming flights and delaying takeoffs.

Soon afterwards, Hezbollah announced it had launched an attack on Israel with a “large number of drones” as an initial response to the killing of Fouad Shukur, a top commander with the group, last month.

The Israeli military said Hezbollah was planning to launch a heavy barrage of rockets and missiles towards Israel. A spokesperson said the strikes from Hezbollah were “part of a larger attack that was planned and we were able to thwart a big part of it this morning”.

However, Hezbollah, the powerful Iran-backed Lebanese armed group countered that Israel was making “empty claims” of having thwarted a larger attack, and said its own operation for Sunday “was completed and accomplished”.

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah denied that the Israeli military destroyed thousands of the group’s rocket launchers.

“Talk about how the resistance (Hezbollah) was going to launch 8,000 or 6,000 rockets and drones and that (Israel) thwarted this… are false claims”, Nasrallah said in a televised speech, adding that only “dozens of rocket launchers” were destroyed.

By mid-morning, it appeared that the exchange had ended, with both sides saying they had confined their attacks to military targets.

The Israeli military said a navy soldier was killed and two others wounded in combat in northern Israel.

“Petty Officer First Class, David Moshe Ben Shitrit, aged 21… fell during combat in northern Israel,” the military said in a statement, adding that he was from the navy and that two others were also wounded. It did not give further details.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that today’s strikes in Lebanon were “not the final word” in his country’s military campaign.

“We are striking Hezbollah with surprising, crushing blows… This is another step towards changing the situation in the north and safely returning our residents to their homes. And, I repeat, this is not the final word,” Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting.

He said the military destroyed thousands of “short-range rockets, all of which were intended to harm our civilians and forces in the Galilee”.

“Additionally, the IDF (Israeli military) intercepted all the drones that Hezbollah launched at a strategic target in central Israel,” he said, without identifying what the target was.

Israeli media however reported the target Hezbollah aimed to strike was the headquarters of the Israeli Mossad spy agency near Tel Aviv.

Irish troops

In a statement this morning, Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence Micheál Martin said Irish personnel serving in UNIFIL in Lebanon are safe and accounted for having taken shelter in secured bunkers overnight.

“The Defence Forces and UNIFIL HQ continue to monitor the situation closely and the Chief of Staff will continue to update me accordingly.

“It is imperative that we see the immediate de-escalation of military hostilities by all parties,” the Tánaiste said.

Hezbollah said its militants “began an air attack with a large number of drones” sent across the border, followed with “more than 320″ Katyusha rockets targeting “enemy positions”.

The Lebanese movement said its attack was an “initial response” to Shukr’s killing, adding that it had “ended with total success”, although the extent of the damage on the Israeli side was not immediately clear.

Hezbollah said the attack was targeting “a qualitative Israeli military target that will be announced later” as well as “targeting a number of enemy sites and barracks and Iron Dome platforms”.

The Israeli government declared a 48-hour state of emergency, but 7:00 am (0400 GMT) flights had resumed at Israel’s main international airport after a brief suspension, the aviation authority said.

In Lebanon, the Beirut airport did not close but some airlines, including Royal Jordanian and Etihad Airways, cancelled flights.

Lebanon’s health ministry reported at least three dead in Israeli strikes in the country’s south. No casualties were immediately reported in Israel.

Gaza talks 

The attack came as Egypt hosts a new round of talks aimed at ending Israel’s war against Hamas, now in its 11th month. Hezbollah has said it will halt the fighting if there is a ceasefire.

Hezbollah began attacking Israel almost immediately after the war with Hamas erupted on October 7 with a Hamas cross-border attack.

Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire nearly daily, displacing tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border and raising fears that the fighting could escalate into all-out war.

But until today, both sides have been careful to avoid a broader conflagration.

Hamas said Hezbollah’s attack was “strong”, hailing it as “a slap in the face” for Israel.

Hezbollah is considered much more powerful than its ally, Hamas, with an estimated arsenal of arsenal of 150,000 rockets and missiles, including precision-guided missiles.

In recent months the group has also stepped up its use of drones, against which Israel is less well-equipped to defend.

Israel has one of the world’s best militaries and an extensive multi-tiered missile defence system, and it is backed by a US-led coalition that helped it shoot down hundreds of missiles and drones fired from Iran earlier this year. The US military has been building up its forces across the region in recent weeks.

Israel has vowed a crushing response in the case of all-out war, one that would be likely to demolish critical civilian infrastructure, especially in south Beirut and southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah’s main strongholds are located. A war is likely to displace hundreds of thousands of people on both sides.

The US and other mediators see a ceasefire in Gaza as key to heading off a wider Middle East conflagration.

High-level talks about a ceasefire in Gaza are planned for today in Cairo aiming at bridging the gaps in an evolving proposal for a truce and the release of scores of hostages held by Hamas.

The talks were to be attended by CIA director William Burns, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egyptian chief intelligence official Abbas Kamel.

Hamas sent a delegation to the Egyptian capital to be briefed by Egyptian and Qatari mediators but is not directly taking part in the negotiations.

The head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, David Barnea, had been expected to attend, but officials have said a decision will be taken later today on if he still would given the Israel-Hezbollah tensions.

Includes reporting from AFP and Press Association.