Israel's preemptive strikes: Hezbollah's retaliatory rocket barrage facilitates drone attack deep in Israeli territory

Report by Edmond Sassine, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi

In the early hours of Sunday, Israeli warplanes launched a series of intense airstrikes on various locations in southern Lebanon. 

At 4:49 AM, the Israeli military spokesperson released a video claiming that Israel had detected Hezbollah's preparations to launch rockets and shells, prompting the air force to strike Hezbollah targets.

Israel later asserted that 100 aircraft were involved in the operation, allegedly destroying thousands of rocket launchers that were supposedly ready for use by Hezbollah. 

Despite these claims, Hezbollah responded by launching a barrage of rockets from different locations in southern Lebanon, marking their initial retaliation for the assassination of their military commander, Fouad Shokor, in Beirut's southern suburb in July.

Hezbollah's statements outlined their operation, which relied on launching rockets to create a cover for their drones to penetrate deep into Israeli territory. 

The operation began with the firing of 320 rockets at 11 Israeli sites and bases to overwhelm the Iron Dome defense system and facilitate the drones' entry into Israel.

Despite Israel's assertions of a preemptive strike, Hezbollah, in subsequent statements, claimed success in launching all their drones as planned, dismissing Israeli claims of disrupting the attack. 

According to field sources, Israel had anticipated a strike from Hezbollah and targeted what it believed were rocket launch sites and pre-evacuated positions. 

However, Hezbollah reported no casualties, and the drones were launched as planned, with no precision rocket platforms hit by Israel's so-called preemptive strikes.