Israel has announced that it is preparing to impose calm on the Lebanese front amid escalating hostilities on Sunday after Hezbollah conducted a cross-border missile attack, which was met with Israeli airstrikes targeting sites linked to the group. The chief spokesperson for the Israeli army, Admiral Daniel Hagari, described Hezbollah as "the defender of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement ‘Hamas’ and the Islamic State organization."
Hezbollah, widely believed to have a much larger arsenal of rockets than Hamas, is conducting relatively limited attacks in solidarity with the Palestinians. Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah stated on Saturday that the group "will continue to operate" on the front with Israel. However, following the death of at least 70 Hezbollah members, as well as several Lebanese civilians in Israeli retaliatory strikes, the group's tactics have expanded to include the use of missiles carrying warheads weighing between 300 and 500 kilograms and suicide drones.
Today, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for a guided missile attack that Israel said resulted in injuries to at least two workers from a power company sent to conduct repairs in a border residential area. The army reported that a mortar attack resulted in injuries to seven Israeli soldiers. A missile caused alarms to sound near the coastal Israeli city of Haifa, located 27 kilometers from the Lebanese border, but did not result in injuries. A Lebanese wing of Hamas claimed responsibility for the missile launch.
Israel stated that its air and artillery forces struck Hezbollah targets and other sites in Lebanon in response, holding the group and the Beirut government accountable for all hostile actions. Hagari commented, "The Israeli army is focused on Gaza, but we are in a very high state of readiness in the north." He added, "Lebanese citizens will pay the price for this recklessness and for Hezbollah’s decision to be the defender of Hamas and the Islamic State."
In a televised press conference, he stated, "The Israeli army has operational plans to change the security situation in the north. The security situation will not remain as it is in the north, where the population does not feel safe returning to their homes." Residents of villages and towns near the Lebanese border have been evacuated southward, even as communities near Gaza, struck by Hamas, faced similar evacuations, resulting in the internal displacement of around 250,000 Israelis. Many citizens in southern Lebanon have also fled northward in search of safety.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged Iran, which supports Hamas and Hezbollah, to intervene. He stated in an interview with journalist Fareed Zakaria that he asked Iran "to tell Hezbollah that ‘you cannot create a situation that plunges Lebanon entirely into this conflict’." He continued, "If Hezbollah launches a large-scale attack on Israel, that may happen... I don’t know how impactful it will be... but I am certain that Lebanon will not be able to remain (afterward)."
When asked if Iran had responded, he said, "I don’t know. They always say they have nothing to do with what is happening; however, they simultaneously speak openly about the danger of this conflict extending. Iran’s stance has always been very ambiguous."
At the same time, the Lebanese Prime Minister stated he was reassured by Hezbollah's rationality, while party operatives launched anti-tank missiles towards Israeli civilians from the power company, causing injuries to several. This is an irrational terrorist attack targeting civilians that risks Lebanon as a state. I believe the Prime Minister must address… — Avichay Adraee (@AvichayAdraee) November 12, 2023. Hagari noted that 23 Israelis were injured today in the northern region as a result of attacks originating from Lebanon.
