Israel’s large-scale attack on Hezbollah’s missile sites in Lebanon is “not the end of the story,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel launched a wave of air strikes on southern Lebanon on Sunday in what it said was a preemptive strike against Hezbollah, which said it fired hundreds of rockets and drones to avenge the killing of one of its top commanders last month.
“Hezbollah attempted to attack the State of Israel with rockets and drones early this morning,” Netanyahu said.
“We ordered the Israeli forces to carry out a powerful preemptive strike to eliminate the threat. The Israeli forces destroyed thousands of short-range missiles, and they were all aimed at harming our citizens and our forces in the Galilee.”
The heavy exchange of fire threatens to trigger a full-scale war that could draw in the United States, Iran and militant groups across the region.
In addition, it could torpedo efforts to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has been at war with the Palestinian Hamas, an ally of Hezbollah, for more than ten months.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the group’s attack on Israel in retaliation for the killing of Fouad Shukur in Beirut last month had been postponed to give a chance for ceasefire talks in the Gaza Strip.
“They (the US) started saying that the aggression would stop and that there would be a ceasefire and that one should wait. And that is why we took our time. We did not tell anyone that we would take our time, but honestly we took our time to create space for these negotiations. Our main goal on this front and despite all the blood lost and all these victims is to stop the aggression against Gaza,” he said in a video address in Lebanon.
But the latest round of ceasefire talks did not go well, as Hamas rejected Israel’s new conditions presented in Cairo.
An anonymous U.S. official said talks would continue at a lower level in the coming days to close remaining gaps.
The official said “working teams” would remain in Cairo to meet with mediators – the United States, Qatar and Egypt – in the hope of resolving remaining differences.
The official described the latest talks, which began in Cairo on Thursday and lasted until Sunday, as “constructive” and said all parties were working to “reach a final and workable agreement.”
A Hamas delegation was briefed by Egyptian and Qatari mediators but did not participate directly in the negotiations.
Israel and Hamas blame each other for the lack of progress.
Hamas accuses Netanyahu of making new demands and not being serious about the ceasefire.
Netanyahu insists that the war in Gaza will continue until Hamas is destroyed, regardless of whether a ceasefire is agreed.
