PM: Preemptive strikes against Hezbollah ‘not end of story’; all drones aimed at strategic targets in center were intercepted

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says in his opening remarks at the weekly cabinet meeting that Israel’s preemptive strike on Hezbollah in Lebanon this morning was not “the end of the story.”

“Hezbollah tried to attack the State of Israel with rockets and drones. We instructed the IDF to carry out a powerful, preemptive strike to eliminate the threat,” Netanyahu says.

“The IDF destroyed thousands of short-range rockets, and all of them were aimed at harming our citizens and our forces in the Galilee,” he adds. “In addition, the IDF intercepted all the drones that Hezbollah launched at strategic targets in the center of the country.”

“Israel is hitting Hezbollah with surprising, crushing blows. Three weeks ago we eliminated its chief of staff [Fuad Shukr],” Netanyahu says. “Today we foiled its attack plan. [Hezbollah’s Hassan] Nasrallah in Beirut and [Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei in Tehran should know that this is another step on the path to changing the situation in the north and returning our residents safely to their homes.”