Israel vowed on Saturday that it was “preparing a response” to Iran’s “unprecedented and unlawful attack.” The ominous warning comes as the military reports it has eliminated hundreds of Hezbollah terrorists and more than 2,000 targets of the group since attacks in Lebanon began this week. . — including another leader in the organization.
The Times of Israel reported that the Israel Defense Forces promised a “serious and significant” response to the Iranian attack and said it was spending time developing a plan that would need to be approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Ta.
“The IDF is preparing a response to an unprecedented and illegal Iranian attack on Israeli civilians and Israel,” a military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Guardian.
On Tuesday, Iran fired 200 ballistic missiles into Israeli civilian space, killing one person and wounding two.
In other developments:
The IDF appears to have killed Hashem Saffieddin, who was being eyed as Hezbollah’s next leader after Hassan Nasrallah was “neutralized” last week. Mr Saffieddin has not been able to be contacted since Israel launched a major airstrike on Beirut. IDF officials said they specifically aimed to reach the underground bunker where Mr. Saffieddin was hiding.
Saffieddin is Nasrallah’s maternal cousin. CNN reported that both men had similar harsh criticisms of Israel and the West due to their deep alliance with the Iranian leadership.
Mr. Saffieddin served as chairman of Hezbollah’s executive council and was seen as one of the most likely successors to the organization’s highest office until his predecessor’s death.
Israel announced on Saturday that Hamas militant Saeed Atallah was killed along with his wife and two young daughters in an airstrike in northern Lebanon. Atallah was the leader of the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian nationalist organization.
The family was holed up in a Palestinian refugee camp in the coastal city of Tripoli.
This targeted attack is the first in northern Lebanon since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.
Four other people in a nearby apartment were also killed in the airstrike, Lebanese Civil Defense reported.
Hamas leader Mohamed Hussein al-Rawis, who is described as Hamas’s “Lebanon enforcement authority” and who the Times of Israel reported ordered terrorist attacks in the West Bank, also worked at Saad Nael in the Bekaa Valley. He was killed in an airstrike in the town.
Hussein al-Rawis is reportedly responsible for “Hamas establishing entrenchments in Lebanon, supplying weapons for rocket attacks against Israel, and attempting to manufacture advanced weapons.” .
Hamas also confirmed Lawis’ death in a statement.
Israel estimates it has killed more than 400 Hezbollah operatives in ground operations in southern Lebanon since Monday, which “severely damaged” the group’s chain of command, IDF Maj. Gen. Daniel Hagari said. “This is painful for Iran,” he told CNN. leadership. “The Jewish state launched a series of airstrikes on Saturday targeting Hezbollah headquarters, weapons depots and tunnels in Lebanon, killing dozens of operatives.” The group also said it had targeted a command center set up in a mosque in southern Lebanon that was used to “plan and carry out attacks,” the Times of Israel reported. The IDF said the drone strike was “accurate” and based on intelligence. The Jewish National Army also claimed to have destroyed several Hezbollah tunnels used by its operatives to approach the Israeli border in southern Lebanon, where a cache of weapons was discovered and seized. Prime Minister Netanyahu touted the attack in a speech on Saturday, but said the IDF had additional plans to continue its mission of eliminating the Hezbollah threat. “While the threat has not yet been eliminated, it has clearly changed the course of the war and the balance of the war,” he said. On Saturday, Hezbollah fired a rocket at the northern Arab village of Deir al-Assad, injuring three people. Hundreds of foreign nationals are rushing to evacuate Lebanon as fighting continues, including about 250 Americans who flew back to the United States this week. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller estimated that about 7,000 Americans in Lebanon have registered with the U.S. government to receive information about their departure.
And as the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ October 7th attacks approaches, Israeli President Isaac Herzog issued a statement saying, “In many ways, we are all still in the aftermath of October 7th.” It’s alive,” he said, adding that anti-Semitism had been “progressing throughout.” The world after the war with Hamas. ”
“Iran and its proxies are blinded by hatred and bent on destroying the only Jewish national state,” Herzog said, adding, “We have a deep yearning and desire for peace with our neighbors.” I didn’t throw it away,” he added.
with post wire
