Hezbollah's Rocket Launches; Israeli Army Claims to Have Responded; White House: President is Closely Monitoring Events in Israel and Lebanon

Amid escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council stated that President Joe Biden is "closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon." Sean South said, "Biden has been in contact with his national security team throughout the night. At his direction, senior U.S. officials have been in constant communication with their Israeli counterparts." According to South, the U.S. will continue to support Israel's right to defend itself and will work towards regional stability. Hours earlier, Hezbollah announced that it had launched over 320 rockets towards its targeted bases and points in Israel. Concurrently, Israeli media reported an emergency meeting of the Israeli security cabinet. Israeli media also quoted military officials stating that they targeted and destroyed launchers that were supposed to be fired at Israel at 5 AM on Sunday, September 4. According to reports, these preemptive strikes against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon began shortly before 5 AM. Daniel Hagari, spokesperson for the Israeli army, stated, "The army continues to neutralize Hezbollah's planned attacks against the country." Hagari emphasized that "we are addressing threats to Israel's home front, and dozens of aircraft are currently attacking targets in various areas of southern Lebanon." The Israeli army spokesperson noted that in response to Hezbollah's rocket fire and drone launches towards Israel, "Our air defense systems, naval vessels, and air force are protecting the skies of the country and will strike any point in Lebanon necessary to eliminate the Hezbollah threat." Hezbollah also claimed in a statement that it targeted 11 military bases in northern Israel, and one of the videos circulated on social media shows a Hezbollah drone hitting a highway in northern Israel. This rocket fire comes after Hezbollah had previously stated that it was responding to the killing of its senior commander, Fouad Shukr, in last month's Israeli army attack. Follow the latest developments regarding the escalation of tensions between Israel and Hezbollah in the Voice of America blog. Also see: The U.S. supported Israel's approach in the Gaza ceasefire negotiations. Efforts to prevent escalation in the region; the Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff traveled to the Middle East. Three Hezbollah members were killed in an Israeli army attack. The U.S. Department of Defense: Changes in U.S. military posture will impact Iranian government calculations.