Mid-East Tensions: Israel, Hezbollah Pull Back After Airstrike Sunday, Long-Feared War Averted For Now

Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah pulled back before igniting a long-feared war on Sunday after the former launched a wave of airstrikes towards the latter, which responded with hundreds of rockets and drones to avenge the killing of one of its top commanders last month.

The Israeli military on Sunday said it struck southern Lebanon because Hezbollah was planning to launch a rockets and missiles salvo toward Israel. Soon after, Hezbollah announced it had launched an attack on Israeli military positions as an initial response to the killing of Fouad Shukur, one of its founding members, in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last month.

Hezbollah is a Shia Muslim organisation which is politically influential and in control of the most powerful armed force in Lebanon.

Middle East Tensions | Top Points

Israel-Hezbollah Pull Back After Fire Exchange: By mid-morning on Sunday, the exchange had seemed to have ended, with both Israel and Hezbollah saying they had only aimed at military targets. At least three people were killed in the strikes on Lebanon, while there were no reports of casualties in Israel.

Fears Of War Mount: The exchange of fire between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah comes amid attempts by US and European countries to tamp down the escalation that they fear could spiral into a regional war, fears of which have skyrocketed after killings of key figures belonging to proxies of Israel's rivals.

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Israel Faces Iran, Hezbollah's 'Revenge' Fury: Hezbollah is a close ally of Iran, which has also threatened to retaliate for the killing of a senior Palestinian militant group Hamas's leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in an explosion in Iran's Tehran last month that was widely blamed on Israel, which has not said whether it was involved.

Hezbollah's Role In Israel-Gaza Conflict: Hezbollah has been attacking Israel almost immediately after the start of the war in Gaza, which was triggered by Hamas' October 7 attack into Israel. Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire almost daily, displacing tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border.

Sunday Strikes' Impact In Israel: On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking at the start of a Cabinet meeting, said the military had eliminated “thousands of rockets that were aimed at northern Israel” and urged citizens to adhere to directives from the Home Front Command. Air raid sirens were heard throughout northern Israel, and country's Ben-Gurion international airport stopped operations and diverted flights for approximately an hour due to the threat of attack. Israel's Home Front Command raised the alert level across northern Israel before later lifting restrictions in most areas.

Hezbollah's Sunday Rocket Salvo Towards Israel: Hezbollah said its attack involved more than 320 Katyusha rockets aimed at multiple sites in Israel and a “large number” of drones. Hezbollah said the operation was targeting “a qualitative Israeli military target that will be announced later” as well as “enemy sites and barracks and Iron Dome [missile defence] platforms,” according to Associated Press. Lebanon's Health Ministry reported that two people were killed and another two wounded in the strikes in southern Lebanon. Separately, a fighter for the Amal group, which is allied with Hezbollah, was killed in a strike on a car, Amal said.

Ceasefire Talks In Egypt: Egypt, which is playing a key role in the negotiations, hosted high-level talks in Cairo on Sunday aimed 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 Egypt's chief intelligence official, Abbas Kamel, according to two Egyptian officials, cited in an AP report, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations. The head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, David Barnea, was also expected to attend, they said.