Air Force strikes 100 launchers aimed at Israel; Residents of north told to remain near protected areas

IDF strikes Hezbollah rocket launchers in Lebanon
 (IDF)
Air Force jets struck 100 Hezbollah launchers ready to fire 1,000 rockets toward Israel, the IDF said on Thursday evening. The military said the strikes were made based on intelligence information adding that military structures and weapons storage facilities in several areas in South Lebanon were also hit. 
Hezbollah launched a barrage of 50 Iranian made falaq missiles at the border town of Metula, wounding one woman. 
Residents of the north including Upper Galilee, Golan Heights and the city of Safed were told by the Home Front Command late on Thursday to remain near protected areas and avoid travel on the roads and crowded events.
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A diplomatic solution in the Middle East is achievable and is urgent, the White House said on Thursday, as Reuters reported Israel carried out dozens of strikes across southern Lebanon. The White House believes a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas would “lower the temperature” in the region, spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said.
The military earlier announced it was striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon to degrade the terror group’s capabilities and infrastructure. The IDF has rarely revealed its attacks while they were still underway. 
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IDF strikes Hezbollah targets in South Lebanon on Thursday 
“The Hezbollah terrorist organization has turned southern Lebanon into a combat zone. For decades, Hezbollah has weaponized civilian homes, dug tunnels beneath them, and used civilians as human shields,” the IDF said. 
Leading up to and during a televised speech of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, his first since the coordinated explosions over two days, of his group’s communication devices, Lebanese media outlets reported Israeli jets flying over the Beqaa Valley and over Beirut’s southern sector, both Hezbollah strongholds. 
The planes flying over the Lebanese capital broke the sound barrier making loud noise that was heard throughout the city as residents watched Nasrallah speak. 
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IDF jets break the sound barrier over Beirut during Nasrallah’s speech on Thursday 
(Photo: Joseph Eid / AFP)
Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel’s north along the border and in the Golan Heights, throughout the afternoon after anti-tank missile fire earlier in the day, resulted in the killing of two IDF servicemen and the wounding of at least one other. Power outages were reported in the coastal Israeli city of Nahariya after a power line was hit in the afternoon attack.   
The military also said earlier that the IDF Chief of Staff had approved the battle plans for an offensive on Lebanon and was prepared for the government to give the go-ahead. 
Also, earlier the IDF said its forces had thwarted a Hezbollah terror attack on the border on Monday. 
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Weapons and equipment found on Hezbollah terrorists attempting an attack on Israeli forces on the border 
(Photo: IDF)
“IDF soldiers conducting operations on the northern border identified two Hezbollah terrorists planting explosive devices on the border with Lebanon. The soldiers directed artillery and an aircraft which struck and eliminated the terrorists as they attempted to conduct the attack in the area of the ‘Tziporen’ post,” the military said in a statement.  