EXPLAINER
Hezbollah’s attack was anticipated, weeks in the making against Israel’s recent targeted killings, mounting concern of regional escalation.
Hezbollah and Israeli forces have exchanged attacks across the Lebanon-Israel border in a marked escalation of the tit-for-tat engagement they have been undertaking since October 7.
Here’s everything you need to know about what happened on Sunday morning.
What exactly happened?
Israeli jets attacked southern Lebanon in the early hours of Sunday morning, saying it was a preemptive strike against Hezbollah rocket launchers that were preparing to attack Israel.
The Israeli military said it detected that Hezbollah would launch hundreds of missiles towards central Israel at 5am, Israel’s Army Radio said, so it attacked half an hour beforehand with 100 Israeli jets.
Hezbollah launched its attack on northern Israel with rockets and drones in retaliation for the killing of commander Fuad Shukr last month, the Lebanese group said.
Was anybody hurt?
Lebanon’s NNA news agency reported one person was critically injured in a drone attack in Qasimia in southern Lebanon, and a later Israeli air raid killed one person in the Lebanese town of Khiam.
There are also reports of some injuries in the Israeli city of Acre.
Who hit what?
Hezbollah says its attack hit 11 Israeli military installations, including the Meron base and four sites in the occupied Golan Heights.
Israel says it hit thousands of Hezbollah rocket launchers.
So what’s happening right now?
The situation seems to have calmed, at least momentarily.
Hezbollah has denied Israel’s claims of hitting its launch sites, adding that it has successfully completed the “first phase” of its retaliatory attack on Israel.
Israel has issued security directives for its north, but otherwise, matters seem calmer with Ben Gurion airport reopening after being closed for a few hours.
Why today?
The day of the attacks coincides with Arbaeen, 40 days after the killing of Imam al-Hussein, the third Shia imam. According to a Hezbollah statement, they chose this day because it commemorates it as a day of martyrdom.
Does this mean war between Hezbollah and Israel?
According to Sami Nader, director of the Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs, this has “the potential to draw the whole region into the full-blown war”, but Hezbollah and Israel “are trying to avoid” that.
The Reuters news agency, quoting Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said: “Israel does not seek a full-scale war but will act according to development on the ground.”
What happens next?
It is not clear.
Analyst Sami Nader told Al Jazeera that these events signal a “major escalation in terms of scope of operation and intensity”.
However, according to Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr, the language being used by Israel has focused on “self-defence” and protecting Israelis from attacks, which seems to indicate that Israel will not pursue escalation at this time.