JERUSALEM/BEIRUT, Aug 25 (Reuters) – Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel early on Sunday, as Israel’s military said it struck Lebanon with around 100 jets to thwart a larger attack, in one of the biggest clashes in more than 10 months of border warfare.
Missiles were visible curling up through the dawn sky, dark vapour trails behind them, as an air raid siren sounded in Israel and a distant blast lit the horizon, while smoke rose over houses in Khiam in southern Lebanon.
Three deaths were confirmed in Lebanon and one in Israel, where damage appeared to be limited.
Hezbollah indicated it was not planning further strikes yet and Israel’s foreign minister said the country did not seek a full-scale war, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned: “This is not the end of the story.”
The two sides have exchanged messages that neither wants to escalate further, with the main gist being that the exchange was “done”, two diplomats told Reuters.
Any major spillover in the fighting, which began in parallel with the war in Gaza, risks morphing into a regional conflagration drawing in Hezbollah’s backer Iran and Israel’s main ally the United States.
Hezbollah said it had fired 320 Katyusha rockets towards Israel in what it called the first phase of its retaliation for Israel’s assassination of Fuad Shukr, a senior commander, last month.
It had delayed this action to give time for Gaza ceasefire talks, a Hezbollah official said, adding that the group had calibrated its response to avoid triggering a full-scale war. The group said the rest of its response to Shukr’s killing would take “some time”.