Cliff’s Edge

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Israel carried out a series of airstrikes on Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon Sunday, an escalation that has raised fears of an all-out regional war breaking out in the wake of fighting that started with Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct.7, Axios reported.

The strikes, which Israel called “preemptive,” came after US and Israeli intelligence services said earlier in the week that Hezbollah was preparing for a major missile and drone attack against Israel.

In recent weeks, the Iran-backed Islamist paramilitary group Hezbollah announced it would strike Israel in retaliation for Israeli forces assassinating its top commander, Fuad Shukr, in the Lebanese capital Beirut.

On Sunday, more than 100 Israeli fighter jets were deployed to destroy 40 launching compounds, resulting in the destruction of thousands of rocket and missile launchers aimed at both northern and central Israel.

Hezbollah responded by launching more than 320 rockets and deploying multiple drones toward Israeli military bases and a security compound in the northern Israeli city of Tel Aviv. The Lebanon-based group countered that its attack was successful.

Despite the heavy exchange, no casualties were reported in Israel, while Lebanese authorities confirmed that three people were killed in the strikes, according to CBS News. While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was reported to have said, “This is not the end of the verse”. Israel and Hezbollah were reported early Monday to have exchanged messages via intermediaries calling for de-escalation, Sky News reported.

While Israel said that the threat was thwarted, Hezbollah asserted that its retaliation was effective and hinted at the possibility of further action.

The recent exchange comes as the conflict in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas, another Iran-backed group, is entering its eleventh month. It began after Hamas and its allies launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people and kidnapping more than 250 others.

The Israeli military response against the Palestinian enclave has resulted in a humanitarian crisis and the death of at least 40,000 people, according to officials in Hamas-controlled Gaza.

Fears of the conflict spilling across the region have grown following the strike that killed Shukr and the operation in Iran that killed Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh late last month. Israel has not confirmed its involvement.

Iran and its proxies have pledged to retaliate for Haniyeh’s killing, CNN noted.

The attacks came as US, Israeli, Qatari, and Egyptian diplomats are still locked in negotiations in Cairo to conclude a ceasefire deal in Gaza and gain the release of Israeli hostages.