Israel carried out a series of pre-emptive airstrikes across southern Lebanon on Sunday, targeting thousands of Hezbollah’s rocket launchers, according to Israeli military reports. The strikes were intended to prevent a large-scale rocket and drone attack by the Iran-backed militant group. Hezbollah, along with its allies from Amal, confirmed that three of their fighters were killed in the attacks. Despite the strikes, Hezbollah claimed to have launched 320 rockets and drones at Israel in retaliation for the assassination of a senior commander, resulting in the death of one Israeli navy soldier.

The United States is working to prevent further escalation after 10 months of hostilities that have heightened fears of a full-scale war. Since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began on October 7, there have been nearly daily exchanges of fire along the Israel-Lebanon border.

Meanwhile, the latest round of US-backed Gaza peace talks in Cairo ended without a breakthrough. Hamas accused Israel of backtracking on previous promises, while Israel denied any changes in its demands. Hezbollah has stated that its actions are in support of Hamas, with both groups receiving backing from Iran. Both Hezbollah and Hamas are designated as terrorist organizations by Israel, the UK, and other countries.