Following the IDF's preemptive strike on southern Lebanon, Hezbollah issued two statements on Sunday morning, detailing what it described as the "first phase" of its response to the assassination of its military chief Fuad Shukr in Beirut, and claiming to have fired 320 rockets at "military targets" in Israel.
"As part of the first phase of the retaliation to the Israeli attack on the Dahieh [a Hezbollah stronghold in the Lebanese capital] that resulted in the death of Fuad Shukr and others, including women and children, Hezbollah initiated an air strike using a large number of drones deep inside Israel, targeting a military site that will be disclosed later," the Iran-backed terrorist group said.
Hezbollah also claimed that rockets were launched at several Iron Dome batteries and that its operations "will take time." A more detailed announcement about the operation and its objectives is expected later.
Meanwhile, a woman was slightly injured by shrapnel in the coastal city of Acre, the southernmost area targeted. Drones and rockets were fired across the northern region of Israel, from the Golan Heights to the coast, triggering warnings in numerous communities.
At 4:45 a.m., the IDF launched an operation to "remove a threat" in southern Lebanon, where, according to a report by The New York Times, long-range missile launchers had been aimed at Tel Aviv. The IDF struck multiple targets in southern Lebanese villages, though no casualties were reported in the initial hours.