Israel and Hezbollah trade most intense fire in months – then pull back
- Israel says pre-emptive strikes in Lebanon stopped bigger attack, while Hezbollah launched hundreds of missiles at northern Israel
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Israel, Hezbollah trade heavy fire as Gaza ceasefire negotiations take place
Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah traded heavy fire early Sunday but backed off from sparking a widely feared all-out war, as both sides signalled their most intense exchange in months was over.
The cross-border attacks came as high-level talks resumed in Egypt aimed at a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza that also would ease regional tensions.
The Hamas and Israeli delegations later left Cairo, and an Israeli official speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss behind-the-scenes diplomacy said the talks were expected to continue.
Hezbollah claimed to hit an Israeli military intelligence site near Tel Aviv as part of a barrage of hundreds of rockets and drones, and Israel claimed its dozens of strikes had been pre-emptive to avert a larger attack. Neither offered evidence.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the attack, a response to Israel’s killing of a top militant commander in Beirut last month, had been delayed to give the Gaza ceasefire talks a chance, and so fellow Iran-backed groups could discuss with Iran whether to attack Israel all at once. Israeli and US military deployment also played a role.
