Israel and Hezbollah trade heavy fire before pulling back, jolting a region braced for war

JERUSALEM -- Israel launched a wave of airstrikes across southern Lebanon early Sunday in what it said was a preemptive strike to avert a large Hezbollah attack. The militant group responded that it had fired hundreds of rockets and drones to avenge the killing of one of its top commanders last month.

Both sides then appeared to pull back, signaling there would be no immediate further escalation, but the situation remained tense. The exchange came as Egypt hosted high-level talks aimed at a cease-fire in the 10-month-old Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, which diplomats hope will tamp down regional tensions.

The Israeli military said it struck because Hezbollah was planning to launch a heavy barrage of rockets and missiles. Soon after, Hezbollah said it had launched an attack on Israeli military positions as an initial response to the killing of Fouad Shukur in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last month.

By mid-morning, the heavy exchange of fire had ended, with both sides saying they had only aimed at military targets. At least three fighters were killed in the strikes on Lebanon, while there were no reports of casualties in Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military had eliminated thousands of rockets that were aimed at northern Israel and shot down drones heading for the center of the country. He said it marked another step toward changing the situation along the border.

“I repeat — this is not the end of the story," he added.

Air raid sirens were reported throughout northern Israel, and Israel's international airport closed and diverted flights for about an hour due to the threat of attack. Israel’s Home Front Command raised the alert level across northern Israel before later lifting restrictions in most areas.

Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesman, 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. He said around 100 Israeli aircraft took part in Sunday’s strikes.

Two Hezbollah fighters and a militant from an allied group were killed, the groups said. The Lebanese Health Ministry said two people were wounded.

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 targeted “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 “military operations for today have been completed.” It dismissed Israel's claim to have thwarted a stronger attack. Neither Israel nor Hezbollah provided evidence for their 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.

“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.

President Joe Biden was “closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon," according to Sean Savett, a spokesman for the National Security Council.

The Pentagon said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, about Israel's defenses. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. CQ Brown, is on a visit to the region that is expected to take him to Israel, Egypt and Jordan.

Randa Slim, a senior fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based Middle East Institute, said Sunday morning’s exchange was “still within the rules of engagement and unlikely at this point to lead to an all out war.”

Danny Citrinowicz, an expert at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, said Hezbollah might be trying to “balance the equation without escalating into war.” Each side is now hoping their narrative will be sufficient for them to declare victory and avoid a wider confrontation, he said.

Hezbollah began attacking Israel almost immediately after the start of the war in Gaza, which was triggered by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack into Israel. Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire almost daily, displacing tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border.

Hezbollah, which fought Israel to a stalemate in the summer of 2006, is believed to be far more powerful than it was during that conflict. The United States and Israel estimate it has some 150,000 rockets and is capable of hitting anywhere inside Israel. The group has also developed drones capable of evading Israel's defenses, as well as precision-guided munitions.

Israel has vowed a crushing response to any major Hezbollah attack. It has an extensive multi-tiered missile defense system, and it is backed by a U.S.-led coalition that helped it shoot down hundreds of missiles and drones fired from Iran earlier this year. The U.S. military has been building up its forces across the region in recent weeks.

Hezbollah is a close ally of Iran, which has also threatened to retaliate against Israel for the killing of a senior Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in an explosion in Tehran last month. Israel has not said whether it was involved.

Iranian state media on Sunday played up the Hezbollah attack, calling it a success, but there was no immediate comment from Iranian officials.

The U.S. and other mediators see a cease-fire in Gaza as key to heading off a wider Mideast conflagration. Hezbollah has said it will halt its strikes on Israel if there is a cease-fire in Gaza.

Egypt is hosting high-level talks in Cairo on Sunday aimed at bridging the gaps in an evolving proposal for a truce and the release of scores of hostages held by Hamas. The talks were to be attended by CIA director William Burns and David Barnea, the head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency.

Hamas sent a delegation to the Egyptian capital to be briefed by Egyptian and Qatari mediators but is not directly taking part in the negotiations.

___

Associated Press writers Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut, Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, Samy Magdy in Cairo and Aamer Madhani in Buellton, California, contributed.