The IDF has confirmed it has opened an “offensive campaign” against Hezbollah in Lebanon after it launched rocket strikes against Israel.
The terror group’s strikes came in retaliation for the US-Israeli joint strikes on Iran, which killed the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Under Khamenei, who was in power for nearly 40 years, the Islamic Republic contributed millions of dollars to Hezbollah, as well as providing its personnel with supplies, weapons, and sanctuary as part of Tehran’s regional network of terror proxies.
In response to the attack, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) launched bombing raids on Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon, as well as in the capital, Beirut.
On Monday morning, the IAF confirmed that it had “precisely struck a senior Hezbollah terrorist” in the city, but has yet to provide further details.
The Israeli Navy also hit an apparent Hezbollah weapons cache in Tyre.
"The command centres struck were used by the Iranian terrorist regime to further deepen the connection with the Hezbollah terrorist organisation, and therefore enabled the terrorist organisation to advance many terror attacks against civilians of the state of Israel over the past several years, and specifically throughout the ‘Northern Arrows’ operation,” added a spokesman.
Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, the army's chief of staff, warned that the fighting could last several days, saying: "We need strong defensive readiness and continuous offensive preparedness, in waves."
The conflict appears to mark the end of a ceasefire agreed between Israel and Hezbollah in November 2024, which Jerusalem has accused the group of consistently violating since.
Terrorists were able to launch the rocket attacks despite Beirut’s claim that, in accordance with the ceasefire, the Lebanese Army had disarmed Hezbollah in the south in an “effective and tangible way”.
Footage has also emerged of Israel’s new Iron Beam laser defence system intercepting Hezbollah rockets.
The technology, which has been in development since 2014, works by using high-powered lasers, made by Israeli defence firm Elbit Systems, to shoot down projectiles.
It is designed to neutralise smaller ordnance, allowing the world-renowned Iron Dome system to deal with larger missiles.
Israel only acquired the Iron Beam as a supplement to the Iron Dome in December, when the Defence Ministry released its first combat-ready devices to the IDF.
Speaking at the time, Defence Minister Israel Katz called it “a historic occasion”, saying it was “the first time in the world that a high-power laser interception system has reached operational maturity”.
"[This] changes the rules of the game and sends a clear message to all our enemies… do not test us,” he added.
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