Hezbollah launches drone attack on Israel after IDF airstrikes

Air raid sirens were reported throughout northern Israel, and Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport began diverting incoming flights and delaying takeoffs.

An Israeli tank is seen near the Israeli-Gaza border, with destroyed buildings in the back in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Israel launched a series of intense airstrikes in southern Lebanon early on Sunday in what it said was a pre-emptive strike against the Hezbollah militant group, threatening to trigger a broader region-wide war that could torpedo efforts to forge a ceasefire in Gaza.

The army said Hezbollah was planning to launch a heavy barrage of rockets and missiles towards Israel. The Iranian-backed group had been promising to retaliate for Israel’s assassination of a top commander late last month.