Air-Raid Sirens Sound in the North After Launches From Lebanon

Photo: Eyal Margolin, Flash90

Air-Raid Sirens Sound in the North After Launches From Lebanon

Efrat Briner, 31 minutes ago

The IDF identified launches from Lebanon toward Israel. Following the launches, air-raid sirens were activated along the northern border. Shortly afterward, the Home Front Command said it was permissible to leave protected spaces in the north. The missile launches come against the backdrop of the American strike in Iran and constitute a serious violation of the ceasefire. In Israel, it was announced that any response to any violation would be a strike in Beirut.

Sirens were activated this morning, Thursday, in the northern area after launches were detected toward Israel, against the backdrop of the major American strike in Iran. Israel said any launch into Israeli territory would be answered with a strike in Beirut, without needing approval from the political echelon.

In an IDF spokesperson statement, it said, "Following the alerts activated a short time ago in several areas in northern Israel, two launches were identified, falling near the area where IDF forces are operating in southern Lebanon." The launches toward northern Israel are another serious violation of the fragile ceasefire by Lebanon. Earlier this week, a significant decision was reached regarding Israel's response policy in the northern arena, when during a cabinet meeting it was determined that any launch from Lebanon that crosses into the territory of the State of Israel would be answered immediately with a strike in Beirut.

The decision was made after a stormy meeting, and at its center it was determined that strikes in the Lebanese capital would be carried out without the need for special and exceptional approval from the political echelon, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz. This amounts to broad operational freedom for the security establishment in order to enable a rapid response. It should be noted that, as of now, no launches are known to have crossed into Israeli territory since yesterday morning, so the new directive will be tested with the next launch.

U.S. Central Command issued an official statement overnight confirming that its forces completed a series of powerful self-defense strikes across Iran last night. The strikes are described by the Pentagon as a deadly and direct response to Iran's ongoing and unjustified aggression, especially after the downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter earlier this week.

The current operation, which is the second consecutive wave of strikes, has put the Persian Gulf on high alert, accompanied by harsh threats from the White House and the Pentagon, which said U.S. forces are prepared for rapid escalation if Tehran does not sign an agreement to end the crisis. According to the Central Command report, combined Marine Corps, Air Force and Navy forces used precision weapons against multiple military targets inside Iran. The operation dealt a severe blow to the operational capabilities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its surveillance capacity in the air and maritime domains.

The main targets destroyed in the strike wave include military surveillance capabilities and radar systems, detection and observation facilities used by Iran to monitor Western forces, communications systems, Iranian military communications and coordination infrastructure, and air defense sites, missile batteries and interception systems that posed a direct threat to U.S. forces and international commercial ships sailing in regional waters.

Iran, Hezbollah, Lebanon, U.S. Central Command