Netanyahu: Israel’s preemptive strike on Hezbollah ‘is not the end’

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that the coordinated preemptive strike by the IDF on Hezbollah terrorist assets on Sunday would not be the final blow.

“What happened today is not the end of the story. Early this morning, Hezbollah attempted to attack the State of Israel with rockets and drones. We instructed the IDF to conduct a fierce preemptive strike to eliminate the threat,” Netanyahu said at the start of a cabinet meeting, which took place this week at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv.

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“The IDF destroyed thousands of short-range rockets designed to attack our citizens and troops in the Galilee region. In addition, the IDF intercepted all drones launched by Hezbollah at strategic targets in the center of the country,” the prime minister continued.

“We are striking Hezbollah with a devastating and unexpected blow. Three weeks ago, we eliminated its chief of staff (Fuad Shoukr), and today we thwarted its attack plans.

“(Hezbollah terrorist chief Hassan) Nasrallah in Beirut and (Iranian Supreme Leader Ali) Khamenei in Tehran need to know that this is another step to change the situation in the north and allow our residents to return safely to their homes,” Netanyahu said.

In the early hours of Sunday, about 100 Israeli Air Force fighter jets, under the command of the IDF Intelligence Department, destroyed thousands of Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah then fired more than 200 projectiles into Israel.

An Iranian proxy statement said the launch was the “first phase” of retaliation for Israel’s July 31 targeted killing of Shukr.

The main target of the attack was likely the Glilot base near Herzliya, home to Mossad headquarters and various military intelligence services.

The IDF lifted crowd restrictions that had been in place in Tel Aviv, Haifa and many towns in northern Israel early Sunday.

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