'The most violent night': Lebanese tell of Hezbollah-Israel strikes

Witnesses describe heavy bombardment as warring parties exchange bombs and rockets

An Israeli strike hits southern Lebanon, as seen from Zibqin, Lebanon. Reuters

Smoke and dust from an Israeli attack on Zibqin in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah says that on August 25 it launched more than 320 rockets at Israeli military positions. AFP

Israeli bombardment of the southern Lebanese town of Khiam. Reuters

A Hezbollah drone over northern Israel. AFP

From northern Israel, an Israeli warplane fires flares as a countermeasure against an hostile aircraft launched from Lebanon. AFP

A Hezbollah drone is intercepted by the Israeli Air Force over northern Israel. AFP

A Hezbollah drone is intercepted by the Israeli Air Force over northern Israel. AFP

A Hezbollah drone is intercepted by the Israeli Air Force over northern Israel. EPA

Smoke and fire on the Lebanese side of the border with Israel. Reuters

Rockets fired from southern Lebanon are intercepted by Israeli air defences in the Upper Galilee region of northern Israel on August 23. AFP

Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza

“It was the most violent night,” said Wafa Raghda, 42, a resident of Burj el Moulouk in southern Lebanon, a couple of kilometres from the Israeli border. The single mother of three is not easily spooked after enduring 10 months under daily exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israel.

She is among about 60,000 people still living near the border despite daily outbreaks of violence. Her house is located in the so-called Christian corridor, theoretically spared from the fighting despite being extremely close to active shelling.

But last night was different.

“All the doors shook. It was so violent I first thought it was an earthquake because the ground started shaking and shaking. Oh my God, it was not normal,” she told The National over the phone.

Her children, although accustomed to the sound of nearby shelling after months of war and hiding in the bathroom during active shelling, were “terrified”, she said.

The warplanes were very low - they hit a car in front of our house

Wafa Raghda,
Burj el Moulouk, southern Lebanon

“The warplanes were very low, and they hit a car in front of our house. It was really strong this time. We haven't slept all night,” she said.

At around 4pm on Sunday, Israel launched a series of what it called preventive strikes in south Lebanon against the pro-Iranian militant group. About 100 fighter jets “struck and destroyed thousands of Hezbollah rocket launcher barrels” at more than 40 launch sites, according to Israeli military spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari, in an unprecedented attack aimed at thwarting a massive Hezbollah offensive.

Hezbollah said two of its fighters were killed in south Lebanon during the attack, while Amal, a Hezbollah-allied group, announced the death of one of its fighters, identified as Ayman Idris, killed in an Israeli strike in Khiam, south Lebanon.

At least 601 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since the cross-border conflict broke out in October in parallel with Israel's war on Gaza, most of them fighters.

An hour later on Sunday, Hezbollah announced a large-scale attack, which it called a first retaliation for the killing of its senior commander Fouad Shukr, by launching more than 320 Katyusha rockets, with most of the projectiles aimed at military bases in the Galilee region of northern Israel and the occupied Golan Heights. Early Israeli assessments say key targets for Hezbollah were believed to be two military sites near Tel Aviv. Israel claims to have thwarted the attack, while Hezbollah claimed a “success” in a statement.

Mayor of Kfar Kila, Hassan Cheet, speaking on the phone from his village, located only a couple of metres away from the border, said: "What happened was the strongest that ever happened throughout all the war... and it was very hard, it was exhausting, and scary.

"People from all over the south, children and women, experienced the battlefield with sounds and images - the 'enemy' targeted villages they had never targeted before.”

Beirut tense after Hezbollah-Israel fire exchange

01:01

Mr Cheet, who also works with the civil defence in Kfar Kila, added: "We're ready for everything, we're still working with the ambulances, we're not leaving our village.”

Those living in southern Lebanon were not the only ones affected.

Beirut’s southern suburbs were described by one local as “completely empty” after the overnight exchanges of fire. The densely populated area, known locally as Dahieh, is one of Hezbollah’s main support bases.

It was in Dahieh that senior Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukr was assassinated in an Israeli strike last month, prompting many residents to seek refuge in safer regions in case of a wider conflict with Israel.

“The streets of Dahieh are completely empty because of the situation,” said Mohammed, who had dropped something at his sister's house in the morning. “Everyone is staying in their home."

Fears of a regional war have spread following the double assassination of Mr Shukr in Beirut and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, both blamed on Israel.

Sunday's attack was part of a much-anticipated retaliation, which diplomatic efforts have tried to contain by reviving ceasefire talks for Gaza amid fears that a co-ordinated Hezbollah-Iranian attack could spark a regional war.

Negotiations have so far been unsuccessful.

On Sunday evening, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said his group would assess the attack's impact and decide later if a bigger retaliation is needed.

“At this stage, our country can breath and relax," he said.