Newsroom
Israel's large-scale airstrikes on Hezbollah missile positions in Lebanon on Sunday have raised fears of an all-out war that could draw in the United States, Iran, and other militant groups across the region.
As reported by Euronews, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the strikes as a "pre-emptive" attack on Hezbollah. Israel launched the airstrikes across southern Lebanon in response to Hezbollah's barrage of hundreds of rockets and drones, which the group said were launched to avenge the killing of one of its top commanders last month.
"Hezbollah tried to attack the State of Israel with rockets and drones early in the morning," Netanyahu said. "We instructed the IDF to carry out a powerful pre-emptive strike to remove the threat. The IDF destroyed thousands of short-range rockets, all intended to harm our citizens and our forces in the Galilee."
The exchange of fire has threatened to derail efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza, where Israel has been engaged in a conflict with Hamas, an ally of Hezbollah, for over 10 months.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the group's attack on Israel was delayed to allow for ceasefire talks in Gaza. "Our main goal is to stop the aggression on Gaza," Nasrallah said in a video speech.
However, recent ceasefire negotiations in Cairo have faced setbacks, with Hamas rejecting new Israeli conditions. An anonymous U.S. official said that while talks have been "constructive," disagreements remain, and discussions will continue at lower levels in the coming days with the involvement of the U.S., Qatar, and Egypt.
Both Israel and Hamas have blamed each other for the lack of progress in negotiations. Hamas accuses Netanyahu of imposing new demands, while Netanyahu insists the war in Gaza will continue until Hamas is eliminated, regardless of a ceasefire agreement.
[Information sourced from Euronews]
