Israel is preparing a response to Iran’s “unprecedented” attack

Israel vowed on Saturday that it was “preparing a response” to Iran’s “unprecedented and unlawful attack.” That ominous warning came as the military reported that it had eliminated hundreds of Hezbollah terrorists and more than 2,000 of the group’s targets since its offensive in Lebanon began this week – including another leader of the organization.

Israel Defense Forces promised a “serious and meaningful” response to the Iranian offensive, noting that they were wasting time developing a plan that would need to be approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to the Times of Israel.

“The IDF is preparing a response to the unprecedented and unlawful Iranian attack on Israeli civilians and Israel,” a military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Guardian.

One person was killed and two others injured after Iran fired 200 ballistic missiles at Israeli civilian areas on Tuesday.

In other developments:

• The IDF appears to have killed Hashem Safieddine, who was tipped to be Hezbollah’s next leader after Hassan Nasrallah was “neutralized” last week. Safieddine has been out of contact since Israel carried out a major airstrike in Beirut that IDF officials said was specifically aimed at reaching the underground bunker where he was hiding.

Safieddine is a maternal cousin of Nasrallah. The pair shared the same strong criticism of Israel and the West and maintained deep alliances with Iran’s leadership, CNN reported.

Safieddine served as chairman of Hezbollah’s Executive Council and was considered one of the most likely heirs to the organization’s highest seat until his predecessor’s death.

• Saeed Atallah of Hamas’s armed wing was killed along with his wife and two young daughters in an airstrike in northern Lebanon, Israel said on Saturday. Atallah was the leader of the Al-Qassam Brigades – the military wing of the Palestinian nationalist organization.

The family was huddled together in a Palestinian refugee camp in the coastal city of Tripoli.

The targeted attack marks the first attack in northern Lebanon since Israel’s war with Hamas began.

Four other people who were in a nearby apartment building were killed in the airstrike, Lebanese Civil Defense reported.

• Hamas leader Mohammed Hussein al-Lawis, described as the group’s “executive authority in Lebanon” and who the Times of Israel reported carried out targeted terrorist attacks in the West Bank, was also killed in an airstrike in the Beqaa town of Saadnayel. Valley killed.

Hussein al-Lawis is reportedly responsible for “Hamas entrenching itself in Lebanon to supply weapons for rocket attacks against Israel and to attempt to produce advanced weapons,” the IDF said.

Hamas also confirmed al-Lawis’ death in a statement.

• Israel estimates it has killed more than 400 Hezbollah operatives in ground operations in southern Lebanon since Monday, which has “severely affected” the group’s chain of command, IDF Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told CNN, adding: “This is painful for the Iranian “Leadership.”

• The Jewish state carried out a series of airstrikes on Hezbollah command centers, weapons depots, tunnels and more in Lebanon on Saturday, killing dozens of militants. The IDF said Saturday it also targeted a command center at a mosque in southern Lebanon that was used “to plan and carry out terrorist attacks against IDF troops and the State of Israel,” the Times of Israel reported. According to the IDF, the drone strike was “precise” and based on intelligence.
• The Jewish state’s military also claimed it had demolished several Hezbollah tunnel shafts used by militants to get close to the Israeli border in southern Lebanon, where weapons caches were discovered and confiscated.
• Three people suffered minor injuries after Hezbollah fired rockets at the northern Arabian village of Deir al-Asad on Saturday.
• As fighting continues, hundreds of foreigners are racing to evacuate Lebanon, including about 250 Americans who were flown back to the United States this week. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller estimated that about 7,000 U.S. citizens in Lebanon had registered with the U.S. government to receive information about leaving.

And as the anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack approaches, Israeli President Isaac Herzog released a statement saying, “In many ways, we are all still living in the aftermath of Oct. 7,” adding adding that anti-Semitism was “on the rise across the board.” the world after the war with Hamas.”

“Iran and its proxies of terror … are blinded by hatred and bent on the destruction of our only Jewish nation-state,” Herzog said, adding: “We have not given up our deep longing and longing for peace with our neighbors.”

With post wires