Israel Hits Strategic Hezbollah Launchers Preemptively

Latest Developments

Israel preemptively bombed long-range Hezbollah rocket launchers on August 25 as the terrorist group carried out a major salvo against the north of the country. The predawn wave of Israeli air strikes targeted rockets that were being primed for launch against Tel Aviv and other targets in Israel’s interior as part of Hezbollah’s long-threatened retaliation for the elimination of its military chief Fuad Shukr on July 30. “Approximately 100 [Israeli Air Force] fighter jets struck and eliminated thousands of Hezbollah rocket launcher barrels, aimed for immediate fire toward northern and central Israel. More than 40 Hezbollah launch areas were struck,” the military said.

Despite being preempted, Hezbollah described the “first phase” of its reprisals as a “total success,” entailing the launch of hundreds of missiles and drones at sites in northern Israel. Hezbollah also targeted an Israeli Navy patrol boat off the coast of northern Israel with drones. One Israeli sailor, 21-year-old Petty Officer First Class David Moshe Ben Shitrit, died from shrapnel caused by the interceptions, and two others were injured. As a precaution, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) raised home front readiness throughout the country, and flights to and from Ben Gurion Airport were briefly suspended before being restored.

Expert Analysis

“In the hair-trigger calculus between retaliation and escalation, the Israelis have used firepower to demarcate a red line for Hezbollah — attacks on Tel Aviv, where the Lebanese terrorist group hopes to topple buildings and paralyze key infrastructure. It took Hezbollah almost a month to avenge Shukr’s death, and its statement today suggests the retaliation is not over. Israel will have to stay on high alert, braced to strike at short notice, and look to Western powers that have sway in Beirut to persuade the Lebanese that they have far more to lose in this standoff.” — Mark Dubowitz, FDD CEO

“Hezbollah suffered a setback on August 25 as Israel preemptively struck its rocket launchers. However, the group showed that it could still launch hundreds of rockets and drones at northern Israel, spreading terror across a swath of the country. This illustrates the extreme threat that the Iranian-backed terrorist group continues to pose as it exploits Lebanon as a base for its terror.” — Seth J. Frantzman, FDD Adjunct Fellow

Hezbollah Claims It Struck Eleven Targets in ‘First Phase’ of Strikes

The Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah claimed via its Al-Manar news outlet to have carried out attacks on 11 different sites in northern Israel with more than 320 rockets. Hezbollah has launched more than 7,500 rocket attacks and 200 drone attacks on Israel in more than 10 months since it began near-daily attacks on Israel following Hamas’s October 7 atrocities in the south. On July 27, a Hezbollah rocket killed 12 Israeli children and teenagers in the northern Golan Heights town of Majdal Shams. In the wake of that attack, Israel launched an airstrike on Beirut that killed Shukr — the attack’s mastermind — prompting Hezbollah to call for revenge.

Related Analysis

“IDF Strikes Terror Targets in Lebanon After Hezbollah Escalation,” FDD Flash Brief

“Hezbollah Unveils Vast Underground Missile Complex,” FDD Flash Brief

“Hezbollah Targets Northern Israel With Drones,” FDD Flash Brief