Hezbollah said its attack involved more than 320 Katyusha rockets aimed at multiple sites in Israel and a “large number” of drones. It said the operation was targeting “a qualitative Israeli military target that will be announced later” as well as “enemy sites and barracks and Iron Dome (missile defence) platforms”.

Hezbollah later announced the end of what it said was the first stage of retaliatory strikes, which it said would allow it to launch more attacks deeper into Israel. But a later statement said, “military operations for today have been completed”.

The group said all the exploding drones it launched hit their targets, without saying how many. It listed 11 bases, barracks, and military positions that it said it targeted in northern Israel and the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. It also dismissed Israel’s claim that its preemptive strikes had succeeded in warding off a stronger Hezbollah attack.

In the US, a spokesman for the National Security Council, Sean Savett, said President Joe Biden was “closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon”.

“At his direction, senior US officials have been communicating continuously with their Israeli counterparts,” Savett added. “We will keep supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, and we will keep working for regional stability.”

The Pentagon said Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, about Israel’s defences against Hezbollah. Austin “reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s defence against any attacks by Iran and its regional partners and proxies,” a statement said.

In recent weeks, diplomats from the US and European countries have made a flurry of visits to Israel and Lebanon in an attempt to tamp down the escalation that they fear could spiral into a regional war.

Last week, Israel’s defence minister said he was moving more troops toward the Lebanese border in anticipation of possible fighting with Hezbollah.

Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, another Israeli military spokesman, said the military had struck in self-defence.

“We can see that Hezbollah is preparing to launch an extensive attack on Israel while endangering the Lebanese civilians,” he added, without providing details. “‎‏We warn the civilians located in the areas where Hezbollah is operating to move out of harm’s way immediately for their own safety,” he added.

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Netanyahu and Gallant were managing the latest operation from military headquarters in Tel Aviv, according to a statement from Netanyahu’s office. Gallant declared a “special situation on the home front”.

Hezbollah began attacking Israel almost immediately after the start of the war in Gaza, which was triggered by Hamas’ October 7 attack into Israel. Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire almost daily, displacing tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border. Until Sunday, both sides had been careful to avoid all-out war.

Hezbollah, which fought Israel to a stalemate in the summer of 2006, is believed to be far more powerful than it was during that conflict. The United States and Israel estimate it has some 150,000 rockets and is capable of hitting anywhere inside Israel. The group has also developed drones capable of evading Israel’s defences as well as precision-guided munitions.

Israel has one of the world’s best militaries and an extensive multi-tiered missile defence system, and it is backed by a US-led coalition that helped it shoot down hundreds of missiles and drones fired from Iran earlier this year. The US military has been building up its forces across the region in recent weeks.

Israel has vowed a crushing response in the case of all-out war, one that would likely demolish critical civilian infrastructure, especially in south Beirut and southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah’s main strongholds are located. A war would likely displace hundreds of thousands of people on both sides.

Hezbollah is a close ally of Iran, which has also threatened to retaliate for the killing of a senior Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in an explosion in Tehran last month that was widely blamed on Israel, which has not said whether it was involved.

AP