Lebanese Hezbollah attack on Israel over, IDF preemptive strikes… update on tensions in the Middle East

The attack targeted the “Israeli barracks and positions in order to facilitate the passage of attack drones” into Israeli territory “deeply”,according to the movement, which wields a preponderant influence in Lebanon.

"Eliminate the threat to civilians"

Hezbollah has denied "the allegations" by Israel, which claimed to have foiled a large-scale attack.

Claiming that it had carried out preemptive strikes in Lebanon, the Israeli army said that "about a hundred" of its planes had destroyed “thousands of rocket launchers” of the Lebanese movement.

The operation was launched to “eliminate threats to Israeli citizens”, the army said.

It reported on X that Hezbollah had fired “more than 150 projectiles from Lebanon into Israel”.Israeli authorities have not immediately reported any military positions being hit.

Mr. Netanyahu has vowed to "do everything" for "security" residents of the north of the country, bordering southern Lebanon, an area mainly targeted by Hezbollah fire.

According to Hezbollah's Al-Manar television channel, the Israeli raids targeted the forests of Kounin Rashf, Al-Tayri, Beit Yahoun, Al-Khardali, Zawtar, Iqlim Al-Tuffah and Al-Rayhan in southern Lebanon. The Lebanese Health Ministry reported one death.

After planes were delayed and landings diverted to other airports in Israel, the Israeli Civil Aviation Authority announced the resumption of flights to and from Tel Aviv.

Beirut airport was operating normally on Sunday morning. For weeks, the international community has said it fears a regional military escalation between Iran and its allies on the one hand and Israel on the other, at a time when the war in Gaza continues.

This was triggered on October 7 by an unprecedented attack by Hamas against Israel. The next day, Hezbollah opened a front against Israel, in “support” in Hamas and since the border between the two countries is caught in a spiral of violence.

Negotiations in Cairo

It is in this explosive context that the negotiators in Cairo should in principle continue their discussions on Sunday in an attempt to reach an agreement on a truce in the Gaza Strip.

This latest round of talks was launched Thursday in the Egyptian capital in the presence of the heads of Israeli foreign and domestic intelligence, David Barnea and Ronen Bar, the director of the CIA, William Burns, the White House coordinator for the Middle East, Brett McGurk, as well as the heads of Egyptian and Qatari intelligence.

A Hamas delegation has traveled to Cairo but is not expected to participate in the talks, according to the movement.

For months, the mediators – Qatar, Egypt, the United States – have been trying to convince Hamas and Israel to stop hostilities, but so far without success.

The October 7 attack resulted in the death of 1,199 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official data.

251 people were also kidnapped that day: 105 are still being held in Gaza, including 34 declared dead by the army.

The Israeli offensive in Gaza has left at least 40,334 dead, according to the Hamas government's Health Ministry, which does not provide details on the number of civilians and fighters killed. According to the UN, most of the dead were women and children.

The offensive caused a humanitarian and health disaster and displaced 90% of the territory's 2.4 million inhabitants, according to the UN.