Netanyahu warns 'this is not the end' after heavy firefight between Israel and Hezbollah

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that “this is not the end” as Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah exchanged heavy fire in southern Lebanon in an escalation of the Middle East conflict.

The cross-border missile, rocket and drone strikes were the heaviest day of attacks since the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel was reignited last October after the Iran-backed Hamas group carried out a deadly incursion into Israel.

The Israeli military said it struck Lebanon, the south of which is controlled by Hezbollah, on Sunday morning with about 100 jets to thwart an attack by the Iran-backed militia.

Hezbollah then fired hundreds of projectiles and drones at Israel, claiming to have fired 320 Katyusha rockets and hit 11 military targets in what it called the “first phase” of its retaliation for Israel's assassination of Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commander, last month.

“What happened today is not the end of the story,” Netanyahu said in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter.

“Hezbollah attempted to attack the State of Israel early this morning with rockets. We have instructed the [Israeli military] to carry out a powerful preemptive strike to eliminate the threat.

“THE [Israeli military] destroyed thousands of short-range rockets that were all intended to harm our citizens and forces in the Galilee. [Israeli military] intercepted all drones [unmanned aerial vehicles] which they sent to a strategic target in the center of the country.

“We are hitting Hezbollah with surprising blows. Three weeks ago we eliminated its chief of staff and today we foiled its attack.”

Referring to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Iranian leader Ali Khamenei, Netanyahu added that the two men “must know that this is another step toward changing the situation in the north.”

Hezbollah denied Mr Netanyahu's claims that it planned to fire thousands of rockets and that the Israeli attack had reduced the range of its air assault.

Mr. Nasrallah, speaking late Sunday, said Hezbollah had not used precision missiles in its strikes but could do so in the near future.

“We will assess the impact of today's operation. If the results are not sufficient, we will react at another time,” he said.

In a lengthy speech, he added that Hezbollah had targeted an Israeli military intelligence base near Tel Aviv and ruled out targeting civilian infrastructure. Photos from the Israeli coastal city of Acre, however, showed that several homes were damaged by the rocket salvo, but no civilians were killed.

Missiles were visible curling across the dawn sky, leaving dark vapor trails behind them, as an air raid siren sounded in Israel and a distant explosion lit up the horizon, while smoke rose above homes in Khiam, southern Lebanon.

Three civilian deaths were confirmed in Lebanon but none in Israel, where the damage appears limited.

However, Israel said one marine was killed and two wounded in fighting in northern areas.

The circumstances of the soldier's death were not specified, but Israeli media reported that it occurred aboard a warship offshore, as an interceptor from Israel's Iron Dome air defense system engaged a drone fired by Hezbollah.

Any major escalation in the fighting, which began in parallel with the Gaza war, risks turning into a regional conflagration involving Hezbollah backer Iran and Israel's main ally, the United States.

But officials and diplomats on both sides seem to believe that all-out war will not break out.

Israel's foreign minister said his country was not seeking a full-scale war. Diplomats speaking on condition of anonymity later said Israel and Hezbollah had exchanged messages through intermediaries to prevent further escalation.

They said the main message was that both sides considered Sunday's intense exchange of bombings to be “over” and that neither side wanted a full-scale war.

The White House said US President Joe Biden was closely monitoring events. “We will continue to support Israel's right to defend itself and we will continue to work for regional stability,” National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said.

The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon and the office of its special coordinator in the country have called on all parties for a ceasefire, calling the developments “worrying”.

Egypt, one of the mediators in the Gaza ceasefire negotiations, has warned of the dangers of opening a new war front in Lebanon. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy has also called for avoiding an escalation “at all costs”.

Speaking to Sky News on Sunday, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden said the UK was “very concerned” about the escalation.

“Even as this situation continues, the British government and the international community urge all parties not to escalate violence and avoid a major regional war. This is the real danger facing the region,” he said.

Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging volleys of projectiles almost daily since Iran-backed Hamas launched a deadly incursion into Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 others prisoner.

Israel's retaliatory air and ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, which has continued despite global calls for peace, has killed at least 40,400 Palestinians in the enclave, according to local health officials.

Hamas and the Houthis, another Iran-backed militia that controls parts of Yemen, both welcomed Hezbollah's latest attack on Israel.