Netanyahu on 'Preemptive Strike' Against Hezbollah: Nasrallah and Khamenei Should Know This is Another Step to Change the Situation

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented on Sunday regarding Israel's 'preemptive' strike against Hezbollah positions in Lebanon, stating, 'This is not the end of the story.' Netanyahu emphasized, 'Hezbollah intended to attack Israel with rockets and drones. We instructed the Israeli army to carry out a strong and preemptive attack to eliminate [this] threat.' According to him, 'The Israeli army destroyed thousands of short-range rockets that all aimed to harm our citizens and our forces in Galilee.' Netanyahu added, 'In addition, the Israeli army destroyed all the drones that Hezbollah had launched toward strategic targets in the center of the country.' Reminding of the deadly attack on Fouad Shukr in previous weeks, he stated that Israel would deliver 'surprising and crushing blows' to Hezbollah. The Israeli Prime Minister warned the leaders of the Iranian government and Hezbollah: 'Nasrallah in Beirut and Khamenei in Tehran should know that this is another step to change the situation in the north [of Israel] and to safely return our citizens to their homes.' Earlier, Netanyahu had also stated, 'This morning we identified Hezbollah's preparations for an attack on Israel. In consultation with the Defense Minister and the Chief of Staff of the Israeli army, we instructed the army to act actively to eliminate this threat.' In another part of his remarks, he said, 'Since then, the Israeli army has been actively working to neutralize threats. Thousands of rockets aimed at the north of the country have been destroyed, and many other threats are also being neutralized with force - both in defense and in attack.' The Israeli Prime Minister added, 'We are determined to do whatever it takes to protect our country, to return the residents of the north safely to their homes, and to continue to follow a simple rule: whoever harms us, we harm them.' In this context, Daniel Hagari, spokesperson for the Israeli army, stated on Sunday that the army neutralized Hezbollah's attempts to launch hundreds of rockets toward the north and several drones toward the center of Israel. He said in a statement, 'Before dawn, we identified Hezbollah's preparations for an attack against the north and center [of Israel]. About 100 Israeli Air Force fighters carried out preemptive strikes to eliminate the threats.' Hagari added that the army attacked 'hundreds of rocket launchers ready for thousands of launches' that 'mostly targeted northern Israel.' According to him, 'We also attacked the drones that were targeting central Israel.' He noted that the attacks on Sunday morning eliminated a major threat and 'possibly a future threat in some areas,' emphasizing the rockets targeted by Hezbollah toward northern Israel. The spokesperson for the Israeli army stated that most of Hezbollah's planned attacks were neutralized, and most projectiles fired toward Israel were intercepted and destroyed. Amid escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council stated that President Joe Biden is 'carefully 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 continue efforts for regional stability. Hours earlier, Hezbollah announced that it had fired more than 320 rockets toward its targeted bases and points in Israel. Israeli media reported that army officials announced they had targeted and destroyed the launchers that were supposed to be fired at Israel at 5 a.m. on Sunday, September 4. According to reports, these preemptive attacks began against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon shortly before 5 a.m. Hezbollah claimed in its statement that it targeted 11 military bases in northern Israel, and one of the videos released on social media shows a Hezbollah drone hitting a highway in northern Israel. This rocket fire occurred while Hezbollah had previously announced that it was responding to the killing of its senior commander, Fouad Shukr, in last month's Israeli army attack.