World
Hezbollah launches rockets at Israel after overnight airstrikes: 'Open-ended battle'
Hezbollah fired more than 100 rockets into northern Israel on Sunday in response to a series of Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon, pushing both sides closer to the brink of full-scale war.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) airstrikes targeting Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon killed dozens, including one of the group’s top commanders, Ibrahim Akil.
Hezbollah’s deputy leader, Naim Kassem, said Sunday’s rocket attack was just the beginning of what’s now an “open-ended battle” with Israel.
Israeli security forces work at a house hit by a rocket fired from Lebanon, in Kiryat Bialik, northern Israel, on Sunday. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
At Akil’s funeral, Kassem vowed Hezbollah would continue military operations against Israel but also warned of unexpected attacks “from outside the box,” pointing to rockets fired deeper into Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would take whatever action was necessary to restore security in the north and allow people to return to their homes.
“No country can accept the wanton rocketing of its cities. We can’t accept it either,” he said.
Israel’s military chief, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, told reporters the army is prepared to increase pressure on Hezbollah in the coming days, adding, “We have many capabilities that we have not yet activated.”
ISRAELI AIRSTRIKES CONTINUE ON TERRORIST TARGETS, ROCKET LAUNCHERS IN SOUTHERN LEBANON
The Israeli military said it struck about 400 militant sites, including rocket launchers, across southern Lebanon in the past 24 hours, thwarting an even larger attack.
“Last night, hundreds of thousands of Israelis woke up to rocket sirens as Hezbollah launched over 20 rockets towards northern Israel that left communities in ruins,” IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said. “This attack could have caused much more damage, but we were able to minimize their attack with a preemptive strike on rocket launchers across southern Lebanon.”
The latest tit-for-tat between Israeli forces and Hezbollah comes as Lebanon is still reeling from a wave of explosions that hit pagers and walkie-talkies belonging to Hezbollah members on Tuesday and Wednesday. The explosions killed at least 37 people and wounded about 3,000. The attacks were widely blamed on Israel, which hasn’t confirmed or denied responsibility.
Israeli security and rescue forces work at the site hit by a rocket fired from Lebanon, in Kiryat Bialik, northern Israel, on Sunday. (AP Photo/Gil Nechushtan)
Israeli forces have been trading fire with Hezbollah fighters almost daily since Oct. 8, the day after Hamas militants stormed into Israel, killing nearly 1,200 people and taking another 250 as hostages. Hezbollah leadership has said its attacks on Israel are in solidarity with its ally Hamas in Gaza.
IDF SAYS KEY HAMAS OPERATIVE KILLED IN GAZA, FOLLOWING CRIPPLING STRIKE ON HEZBOLLAH
The low-level fighting has killed dozens in Israel, hundreds in Lebanon and displaced tens of thousands on both sides of the frontier. But the fighting has intensified in recent weeks, with Israel shifting its focus from Gaza to Lebanon. Some have expressed concerns that the fight against Hezbollah will strain resources and complicate prospects for an already elusive cease-fire deal.
Retired Army Brig. Anthony Tata told “Fox & Friends” that the conflict would only grow and chided the Biden administration for what he deemed a lack of “moral clarity.”
Hezbollah members salute near the coffin of Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Akil during the funeral procession in Beirut’s southern suburb Sunday. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
“It’s critical that Netanyahu keeps his eye on the main fight, which is Hamas, and he eliminates Hamas,” Tata said. “The main effort is still Hamas. And I think what they have to do is hold what they’ve got and hold off Hezbollah until they finish up Hamas, and then they can move to the north and … destroy Hezbollah. You can’t do two things at once equally well.”
Asked Sunday if he was worried about rising tensions in the Middle East, President Biden said, “Yes, I am.”
“But we’re going to do everything we can to keep a wider war from breaking out. And we’re still pushing hard,” Biden added.
Hamas is still holding around 100 captives from its attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, a third of whom are believed to be dead. More than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said Sunday it intercepted multiple aerial devices fired from the direction of Iraq after Iran-backed militant groups there claimed to have launched a drone attack on Israel.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
World
Investors brace for a bigger backlash from Middle East war
World
Tel Aviv analyst shelters from 30 missile sirens in 48 hours, says Iran ‘won’t recover’
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The past 48 hours in Tel Aviv have been unlike anything seen before, a leading security analyst has said, as sirens blared amid missile threats following Operation Epic Fury and U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran.
“We are facing a biblical event — nothing less,” Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute, told Fox News Digital, speaking from his shelter in the city.
Like many Israelis, Michael said he had spent hours in reinforced rooms during the ongoing barrage, adding that he was “very experienced in this.”
“But this all requires time and determination, and I do hope that Trump will also have them both,” he said, speaking shortly after the president released a video message stating that the military operation would continue “until all of our objectives are achieved.”
Explosions from projectile interceptions by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system over Tel Aviv. (JACK GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)
“Trump is the only one who can make the change — and that change will impact the entire region and the international order for years to come,” Michael added.
As of Sunday, Tel Aviv remained under a state of emergency following Iranian missile attacks that caused casualties and widespread damage.
According to The Associated Press, Iranian missile and drone strikes have killed approximately 11 Israeli civilians and wounded dozens more in retaliation for the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran.
Shrapnel from missile impacts damaged at least 40 buildings in Tel Aviv, and authorities reported at least one death in the area from falling debris.
The Philippine Embassy in Israel confirmed the death of a Filipino national after a missile strike hit Tel Aviv on Saturday.
TOMAHAWKS, B-2 STEALTH BOMBERS AND ATTACK DRONES POUND OVER 1,000 IRANIAN TARGETS IN 24-HOUR BLITZ
People take shelter as Iran launched missiles and drones towards Israel following the US-Israeli attacks. ( Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“We enter our shelter once the siren is heard and stay there until the Home Front Command announces that we can leave,” Michael said.
“Usually, it is about 20 to 30 minutes — unless there are further sirens during our stay. Since yesterday morning, it has happened around 30 times.”
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog also visited an impact site in Tel Aviv Sunday, delivering a message of resilience.
“The people of Israel and the people of Iran can live in peace. The region can live in peace. But what undermines peace time and again is terror instigated by this Iranian regime,” Herzog said.
EXILED IRANIAN CROWN PRINCE SAYS US STRIKES MARK ‘BEGINNING OF THE VERY END’ FOR REGIME
Israeli emergency service officer walks past building debris at the scene of a Iranian missile attack. (Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP via Getty Images)
Following the reported killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and roughly 40 senior Iranian officials, Iran formed a provisional leadership council.
Iran named Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, President Masoud Pezeshkian and Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i to lead roles.
“The Supreme Leader did not complete the necessary groundwork regarding his own succession,” Michael added.
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“Pezeshkian will face very troubling challenges due to their heavy losses, severe disruptions to control and command systems, and the massive bombing and attacks across Iran, including Tehran,” he said.
“Even if this regime doesn’t collapse, it will never be able to reconstitute itself, recover or return to its previous position,” Michael added.
World
Israel FM says Europe too divided, slams Spanish PM
Israeli minister Gideon Sa’ar said Europe “does not have unified position” on what role it should play in Iran as European ministers sought to establish a joint approach Sunday.
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As Israel and the United States conducted a joint military strike on Iran, leading to the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Europe was kept on the sidelines.
EU member states did not participate in the operation and, in some cases, they were not informed prior as it is customary among strategic allies.
Asked whether Israel sought to keep Europe on the margins, Sa’ar said internal divisions within EU member states had kept them out of critical exchanges of operational details, unlike the United States, which the minister described as his country’s greatest ally.
“In Europe, you have all kinds of approaches,” he told Euronews. “You have countries like the Czech Republic which is strongly supporting this operation and then you have Spain, which is standing with all the tyrants of the world.”
On Saturday, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez was among the most critical voices in Europe, suggesting the US-Israeli strikes on Iran risk plunging the region into total war.
“We reject the unilateral military action of the United States and Israel, which represents an escalation and contributes to a more uncertain and hostile international order,” Sánchez said Saturday. The Spanish PM reiterated that message on Sunday.
“We urge for de-escalation and call to respect international law in all conflicts,” Sánchez added. “You can be against a heinous regime, like the Iranian regime, while also rejecting a military intervention that is unjustified, dangerous and outside of international law.”
Sa’aar said Israel considers the operation “fully justified” citing the right to self-defense from a regime that “has called for the destruction of Israel” and lashed at the Spanish prime minister for sending an “anti-Israeli, anti-American message.”
“Read the statement, they are standing with Iran!” he added.
When asked if any of his European counterparts had manifested an interest in joining the military operation or provide support on the ground, Sa’ar said he held multiple exchanges with European ministers over the weekend and suggested that “if others want to join, they will know have to convey the message.”
On Sunday, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen appeared to back regime change in Iran in line with Israel and the US, saying that the “risk of further escalation is real. This is why a credible transition in Iran is urgently needed” in comments on Sunday.
Sa’ar told Euronews said the strategic strikes and the elimination of Khamenei alongside top regime commanders could “create the conditions to weaken the regime enough to allow the Iranians to take their future into their own hands”.
“The future leadership of Iran should be determined by the Iranian people through free elections. Our only requirement is that whoever comes to power in Iran must not pursue the destruction of Israel,” he said.
Watch the full interview on Euronews from 8pm CET
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