Hezbollah attack went ‘as planned’, leader claims
More now from Hassan Nasrallah, who has been making a public address after Israeli’s military carried out what it called pre-emptive strikes in southern Lebanon.
The Hezbollah leader said the attack went “as planned”, dismissing statements by the IDF that its preemptive strikes had stopped a larger attack.
He said the group would assess the impact of its rocket and drone attack – allegedly on Israeli military targets – before deciding whether to carry out further assaults in response to the killing of commander Fuad Shukr.
He was quoted by Reuters as saying that Israeli began striking Lebanon half an hour before Hezbollah’s operation, but claimed the areas targeted had nothing to do with its planned attacks.
Foreign secretary says escalation ‘must be avoided at all costs’
While Hezbollah’s leader has been speaking in Beirut, UK foreign secretary David Lammy has called for calm amid fears of a wider war.
Mr Lammy said in a post to X that escalation in the Middle East “must be avoided at all costs”.
He added that he spoke via phone call with Israeli strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer to reiterate “the UK’s support for Israel’s security, the importance of restraint, the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages”.
Hezbollah targeted Israeli military intelligence base near Tel Aviv | Attack delayed for several reasons
Hassan Nasrallah says Hezbollah was targeting Israeli military sites with its rocket attacks, including an intelligence base a short distance from Tel Aviv.
In a speech following the overnight exchanges of fire, the secretary-general of the militant group adds there had been no plans to fire at targets directly in the city, such as the Israeli defence ministry and Ben Gurion airport.
The group decided not to respond to the killing of its top commander Fuad Shukr by targeting civilian areas, Mr Nasrallah says, according to a translation by the Reuters news agency.
None of Hezbollah’s precision or strategic missiles were damaged in Israel’s attacks, he has been quoted as saying.
He says Hezbollah also has no intention of using precision missiles today, but may use them in the near future.
Mr Nasrallah claims the response to Mr Shukr’s killing was delayed for several reasons, including mass Israeli and US military mobilisation, and to give ceasefire talks a chance.
Who is leader Hassan Nasrallah?
While we wait to bring you the key updates from Hassan Nasrallah’s speech in Beirut this afternoon, here’s a video explainer, made prior to the overnight attacks, on everything you need to know about the Hezbollah leader:
Hezbollah chief making speech now
Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah is making a speech now after the cross-border attacks overnight.
We’ll bring you any key lines from his speech as they come.
Israel and Hezbollah trade messages urging against escalation – report
Officials from Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged messages via intermediaries aimed at preventing further escalation to the situation on the border, Reuters reports.
One diplomat told the news agency that the overarching message was that both sides considered the overnight exchange of fire “done” and neither wanted a full-scale war.
Israel and the militant group have already said that they are not seeking a full-scale conflict – but Benjamin Netanyahu warned earlier that the strikes against Hezbollah were “not the end of the story”.
Israeli soldier killed during fighting in north, IDF says
One navy soldier has been killed and two others wounded in combat in northern Israel today, the Israeli military has said.
It didn’t provide further details about the circumstances of the soldier’s death.
According to Israeli media reports, he was killed while aboard a naval vessel offshore as Israel’s Iron Dome system intercepted a Hezbollah drone.
Sky News has not independently verified the reports.
Analysis: Israel will say it had no choice, but its airstrikes risk igniting a regional war
By Dominic Waghorn, international affairs editor
This appears to have been a high-stakes Israeli military operation that risked igniting a regional war.
Israel will say it had no choice: One of the pillars of Israeli military doctrine has long been the principle that offence is the best form of defence.
It is not the first time it has used its air force hoping to defang an imminent threat.
Israel insists it sent an armada of warplanes to the skies over Lebanon, more than a hundred strong, to stop an “extensive planned attack involving thousands of rocket launches” about to be let loose by Hezbollah.
Two questions for now: Hezbollah’s next move and what this does to efforts to end the war in Gaza.
Read Dominic’s full analysis here:
IDF: Hezbollah has ‘a lot more’ rocket launchers despite destruction of thousands
Israel has taken out thousands of Hezbollah’s rocket launchers – but there are “a lot more”, the IDF says.
International spokesman Nadav Shoshani tells Sky News that the militant group has been increasing its weapons supplies “for years” with the help of Iran.
He explains that Hezbollah is one of the largest militant organisations in the world and “larger than a lot of different armies”.
Mr Shoshani reiterates that Israel launched pre-emptive strikes at southern Lebanon overnight as it observed Hezbollah fighters preparing for a “large-scale” rocket attack against Israel.
He declines to comment on whether the Mossad headquarters in Tel Aviv was a target, but confirms Hezbollah launchers were aimed at central Israel, as well as northern Israel.
Israeli forces carried out the “self-defence operation” at around 4.30am local time (2.30am UK time), Mr Shohsani says.
“We are ready to protect [Israeli citizens] – if it’s actively with our aerial defence system preventing terror attacks or taking out immediate threats minutes before happening,” he says.
Asked whether ceasefire talks will be helped or hindered by the attacks overnight, Mr Shohsani says there is only a “small connection” between Hezbollah and the Hamas militant group in Gaza – and that connection is Iran.
“We are working to bring home the hostages in any way possible, if it’s military action or a deal. And we believe both are possible.
“I think that the events in the north do not necessarily affect the talks about a hostage deal,” he says.
Watch: Israeli homes damaged by Hezbollah strikes
We brought you pictures earlier of damage caused by this morning’s attack on homes in northern Israel by Hezbollah (see 1.28pm post).
New footage shows broken windows, holes in roofs and broken furniture.
Watch below…