Hezbollah on Sunday morning claimed its missile attack against Israel had been “carried out with the highest precision and success,” and that it had “successfully implemented the retaliatory operation it had planned,” according to its media mouthpiece Al-Mayadeen.
“Israel’s claim of preemptive action thwarting Hezbollah is a military lie, a media falsehood, and an internal deception of its [own] society,” according to the report, adding that Israel was attempting “to achieve an imaginary victory.”
Israel’s “false claims” regarding a preemptive strike “will be refuted in a speech by [Hezbollah] Secretary General Nasrallah later in the day,” according to Al-Mayadeen.
Hezbollah drones (described the “essence of Hezbollah’s response,”) had hit a “high-value military target,” according to the report.
Israel has not confirmed the claim.
“All the drones crossed the border towards the target from several routes, thus completing our military operation for today,” Hezbollah said.
The Iran-backed terror group claimed it had launched more than 300 rockets to distract Israel’s missile defense systems so that its drones could get through, according to Al-Mayadeen.
According to Israeli reports, while Hezbollah’s plan was to strike the Glilot base where the Mossad intelligence agency is headquartered and various Israeli military intelligence units are housed, the strike failed thanks to the Israel Defense Forces’ preemptive action.
Some 100 Israeli Air Force fighter planes hit Hezbollah targets in the preemptive strike, knocking out 1,000s of Hezbollah rocket launcher pods, the IDF said on Sunday.
Hezbollah warned Israel not to harm Lebanese civilians as “the response will be very harsh.”
The IDF said on Sunday that “Hezbollah’s ongoing aggression risks dragging the people of Lebanon, the people of Israel—and the whole region—into a wider escalation.
“We are operating in self-defense against Hezbollah—and any other enemy that joins in their attacks against us—and we are ready to do everything we need to defend the people of Israel,” it said, adding, "Israel will not tolerate Hezbollah’s attacks on our civilians.”
Israel’s government has imposed media silence on its coalition members until further notice. The head of Lebanon’s government will hold an emergency meeting at 10:30 a.m. local time, Channel 12 reported.
The Iranian-backed terror proxy said it launched its attack in revenge for the targeted killing of Fuad Shukr, its No. 2 leader, on July 31 in Beirut. Israel took credit for that airstrike, which followed on the heels of the July 28 massacre of 12 children in the Druze town of Majdal Shams by a Hezbollah missile.
Shukr had directed Hezbollah’s attacks since Oct. 8, since which the Iranian proxy group has, according to the IDF, launched more than 6,700 rockets, missiles, and explosive drones at Israel.
