After 100 Israeli warplanes swooped over southern Lebanon, taking out thousands of Hezbollah missile launchers in what was called a preemptive strike, the Middle East is braced for an expanded conflagration that could involve Iran and its allied militias.
The assault started at 5 a.m. local time Sunday and was based, Israeli officials said, on precise intelligence that Hezbollah was about to fire thousands of missiles at northern Israel as well as aiming drones at a key intelligence center just north of Tel Aviv in retaliation for the killing of its commander in July.
Israel declared a 48-hour state of emergency and shut its main airport for several hours, with numerous foreign airlines canceling flights. Hezbollah responded by firing more than 200 projectiles, according to Israel, although officials said very limited damage was caused. One Israeli soldier was killed by falling debris, while three deaths were reported in Lebanon.
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