Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday vowed more “surprising blows” against Iran-backed terrorist groups after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reportedly struck launch sites in Lebanon just minutes before Hezbollah was planning to fire thousands of rockets into central Israel. 

“What happened today is not the end of the story. Hezbollah tried to attack the State of Israel with rockets and drones early in the morning,” Netanyahu said at a government meeting in Tel Aviv Sunday morning. “We instructed the IDF to carry out a powerful pre-emptive strike to remove the threat.” 

“The IDF destroyed thousands of short-range rockets, and they were all intended to harm our citizens and our forces in Galilee,” he continued. “In addition, the IDF intercepted all the UAVs that Hezbollah launched for a strategic purpose in the center of the country. We are hitting Hezbollah with surprising blows…. Three weeks ago, we eliminated his chief of staff, and today, we foiled his attack plan.” 

“Nasrallah in Beirut and Khamenei in Tehran should know that this is another step on the way to change the situation in the north and return our residents safely to their homes,” Netanyahu added. “And I repeat – this is not the end of the story.” 

ISRAEL ATTACKS TARGETS IN LEBANON TO THWART HEZBOLLAH’S PREPARED STRIKES: IDF

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant Sunday to discuss the latest developments, Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement. 

“The Secretary reiterated Israel’s right to defend itself and the United States’ ironclad resolve to support Israel’s defense against threats from Iran and its regional partners and proxies,” Ryder said. “As part of that support, the Secretary has ordered the presence of two Carrier Strike Groups to remain in the region. The Secretary also expressed support for completing negotiations on a ceasefire and hostage-release deal.”

In an earlier statement, White House National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said President Biden “is closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon.”

“He has been engaged with his national security team throughout the evening. At his direction, senior U.S. officials have been communicating continuously with their Israeli counterparts. We will keep supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, and we will keep working for regional stability,” Savett added.

It was national security adviser Jake Sullivan leading those updates to Biden throughout the night, officials tell Fox News. 

After Hezbollah announced last night that their attack was over, White House officials said they will keep monitoring the situation.

“There are no indications right now that another round is coming,” one official told Fox News. 

A Western intelligence official told the New York Times that Israel’s preemptive attack targeted and destroyed missile launchers in Lebanon that had been programmed to fire at 5 a.m. toward Tel Aviv. 

The IDF were able to carry out a preemptive attack on thousands of rocket launchers in Lebanon after information gathered from Israeli intelligence agencies, including the IDF’s Military Intelligence Directorate (MID), found Hezbollah was planning to use them to target strategic military sites in central Israel, including in the Gush Dan region, the Israeli English-language newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported. 

The IDF also intercepted drones traveling from Lebanon that were intended to target central Israel, according to the newspaper. 

Approximately 100 Israeli Air Force (IAF) fighter jets, directed by IDF intelligence, struck and destroyed “thousands of Hezbollah rocket launcher barrels that were located and embedded in southern Lebanon,” the IDF said earlier. “Most of these launchers were aimed toward northern Israel and some were aimed toward central Israel, and more than 40 launch areas in Lebanon were struck during the strikes.” 

This photo taken from a position in northern Israel shows a Hezbollah UAV intercepted by Israeli air forces over northern Israel on Aug. 25, 2024. (Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images)

The IDF said its forces struck Hezbollah launchers in several areas in southern Lebanon to remove threats and identified a terrorist cell operating in the area of Khiam in southern Lebanon. 

“The IAF swiftly struck the terrorists,” IDF wrote on X. 

At an earlier news briefing, IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Israeli forces identified “extensive preparation by the Hezbollah terrorist organization to fire toward the Israeli Home Front.” 

“After extensive identification, the IAF and Northern Command began proactively and broadly striking Hezbollah targets in order to remove the threats aimed at the citizens of Israel,” Hagari said. “We are removing threats against the Israeli home front. Dozens of IAF jets are currently striking targets in various locations in southern Lebanon. We are continuing to remove threats, and to intensively strike against the Hezbollah terrorist organization.”

The Israeli military said it struck because Hezbollah was planning to launch a heavy barrage of rockets and missiles 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.

By mid-morning, it appeared that the exchange had ended, with both sides saying they had only aimed at military targets, according to The Associated Press. 

Israeli Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said Hezbollah had intended to hit targets in northern and central Israel. He said initial assessments found “very little damage” in Israel, but that the military remained on high alert. 

Rockets fired from southern Lebanon are intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome air system over the Upper Galilee region in northern Israel on Aug. 23, 2024. (Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported that two people were killed and another two were 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.

HEZBOLLAH OPERATIVES KILLED IN ISRAELI AIRSTRIKES AS TERROR GROUP FIRES 100 ROCKETS AT JEWISH STATE

Hezbollah said its attack involved more than 320 Katyusha rockets aimed at multiple sites in Israel, and a “large number” of drones. It 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 defense) platforms.”

Hezbollah said the strikes would allow it to launch more attacks deeper into Israel, but a later statement said that “military operations for today have been completed.” The terrorist group said it targeted 11 bases, barracks and military positions in northern Israel, including the Golan Heights, and dismissed Israel’s claim to have thwarted a stronger attack. Hezbollah did not provide evidence for its claims.

Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was expected to give a speech later on Sunday.

After an emergency government meeting, Lebanon’s caretaker Economy Minister Amin Salam said officials were “feeling a bit more optimistic” about a de-escalation.

An Israeli Air Force fighter jet fires flares as it intercepts a hostile aircraft that launched from Lebanon over the border area with south Lebanon on Aug. 25, 2024. (Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images)

“We feel more reassured since both sides confirmed that the expected operations ended, and we know that the negotiations in Cairo are very serious,” he said.

Meanwhile, Egypt on Sunday is hosting high-level talks aimed at brokering a cease-fire in the 10-month-old Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, which diplomats hope will tamp down regional tensions.

U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr. is expected to make a trip to the Middle East to participate in negotiations. 

“Over the next few days, the Chairman will visit key allies and partners in the region, Egypt, Jordan and Israel, as a display of the long-term U.S. commitment to the Middle East and to further his understanding of the various perspectives of ongoing tensions,” Joint Staff spokesperson Navy Capt. Jereal Dorsey said in a statement Saturday. 

“In each country, the Chairman is scheduled to meet with his counterparts and other officials for discussions,” Dorsey said. “Gen. Brown will continue to stress the importance of deterring further escalation of hostilities, protecting U.S. forces in the region, U.S. support of Israel’s self-defense, and a coordinated effort in providing humanitarian assistance to the civilians. As cease-fire negotiations continue, the Chairman’s visit is reflective of the importance of reaching an agreement that returns the hostages, ends the violence, and allows the entire region to focus on the next steps toward a more secure, stable Middle East.”

Fox News’ Bradford Betz, Liz Friden, Yonat Friling, Lucas Tomlinson, Kate Sprague and the Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says efforts to mend ties with Turkey had so far brought no tangible results.

“The initiatives did not yield any results worth mentioning despite the seriousness and genuine keenness of mediators,” al-Assad said on Sunday in a speech to the Syrian parliament, referring to recent conciliation efforts by Russia, Iran and Iraq.

Turkey severed ties with Syria in 2011 after the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, in which Ankara supported rebels seeking to oust al-Assad.

The Syrian president and his regime have been accused by international bodies and human rights organisations of committing war crimes after millions of Syrian civilians have fled areas under the control of the government as well as the country as a whole.

“The solution is openness,” al-Assad said. “Restoring a relationship requires first removing the causes that led to its destruction.”

The Syrian president also made clear that while he wants Turkish troops to withdraw from Syria, that was not a condition for talks.

“It’s not correct what was announced by some Turkish officials recently, that Syria said if there is no withdrawal, it will not meet with the Turks,” al-Assad said.

“This talk is far from reality,” al-Assad added.

In July, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been a fervent supporter of the anti-Assad Syrian opposition, said he would extend an invitation to al-Assad “any time” for possible talks to restore relations.

Al-Assad said later that month that he was open to meeting Erdogan but it depended on the encounter’s “content”, noting Turkey’s presence in Syria was a key sticking point.

Russia has been trying to facilitate a meeting between the two leaders in an effort to restore ties. Iraq also said in July that it may seek to try to bring the two leaders together.

A Turkish newspaper earlier reported Erdogan and al-Assad could meet in August, but a Turkish diplomat denied the report.

Since the civil war began, Turkey has been a lifeline for the Syrian opposition, providing a base for military and political figures.

The country has also been involved militarily in areas along its border with northern Syrian because Ankara considers the presence of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its affiliates, who are present in this region, its primary security threat, which has to be dealt with.

The PKK has conducted a war against the Turkish state since 1984 and is considered a “terrorist” organisation in Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

Not abandoning Syrian opposition

In July, Turkey’s foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, told Al Jazeera that the Turkish government had a foreign policy of “normalisation”, part of Erdogan’s “vision of peace”.

“The region is now in a climate seeking peace and stability,” Fidan said. “The spirit of our time forces us to seek peace and stability.”

However, he emphasised that the policy did not mean the Syrian opposition would be abandoned.

“We are not changing our position regarding the Syrian opposition. The Syrian opposition’s relations with the regime are based on their own free decision, their own free choice,” Fidan said before pointing out that opposition fighters had fought alongside Turkish troops to protect Turkey’s security.

“It is not possible for us to forget this sacrifice. … It is out of the question for us to forget these sacrifices and let them down,” Fidan added.

But within Turkey, the continued rise of anti-Syrian sentiment remains, putting the Turkish government in a difficult position.

Turkey is home to 3.6 million registered Syrian refugees – the most in the world.

While Erdogan has continued to back the principle of giving Syrians refuge, their future regularly comes up in Turkish political debates with some opponents of Erdogan promising to send them back to Syria.

When the Washington Commanders unveiled the statue of deceased safety Sean Taylor two years ago, it was met with strong criticism and pushback from fans and community members. On Saturday, the team announced it plans to remove the statue, which critics said resembled a cheap mannequin, and is working the Taylor family to replace it.

Taylor played for the Commanders for four seasons after being drafted fifth overall out of Miami in 2004. The Ring of Fame honoree established himself as one of the league’s best players during that span, but he was tragically killed during an attempted robbery at his Florida home during the 2007 season. He was just 24 years old.

On the 15th anniversary of his death two years ago, the Commanders unveiled a memorial for him at the stadium. The problem was the two-time Pro Bowler’s statue was underwhelming and lacked details of Taylor’s signature game look. The initial installation failed to include the proper jersey (Reebok instead of Nike) and didn’t apply pieces of tape all over his face mask–as Taylor did while playing. The organization soon altered the installation to include those, as well as using the proper style of socks and cleats. The unveiling was one of the final sore moments of Dan Snyder’s 24-year tenure as the team owner, which was marked by dysfunction and scandal.

Jackie Taylor, the daughter of Taylor, will be part of the design process for the new statue. Taylor, who wears her father’s No. 21 as a volleyball player at University of North Carolina, expressed gratitude to new Commanders’ majority owner Josh Harris and the team for deciding to replace her father’s memorial. Harris and his ownership group, which includes NBA legend Magic Johnson, purchased the club for a record $6 billion last summer.

The team said in a statement that the last installation fell short: “Together with the Taylor family, we are working on a plan, which includes unveiling a statue that will rightfully celebrate the legacy and impact that Sean had on our organization, fan base and community. The Commanders are committed to honoring our legends in a first-class manner.”

The Commanders are planning to move to a new stadium in the DMV area where it will rightfully recognize all its best players but have yet to decide where it will plant roots as it considers multiple jurisdictions. The new ownership group in the meantime has invested more than $75 million in capital repairs and upgrades at their current stadium in Landover, Md..

Taylor’s No. 21 jersey was retired in 2021, becoming the fourth player in franchise history to earn the designation. The new statue will be able to move to the team’s new venue once it’s constructed.