Israeli jets carried out a wave of airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon on Sunday to thwart a ‘large-scale’ attack by the Iran-backed terror group. 

The IDF said 100 fighter jets hit thousands of rocket launchers aimed at central and northern Israel, as Hezbollah claimed to have fired 320 missiles and drones in an early morning barrage. 

Western intelligence officials told the New York Times that the rocket launchers pre-emptively hit by Israel were primed to fire at 5am local time. 

The IDF said initial assessments found “very little damage” in Israel from Hezbollah’s rocket fire, but that the military remained on high alert.

On Sunday morning, Hezbollah issued a statement saying the first stage of its attack was over and disputing Israel’s claims to have successfully disrupted its assault. 

Israel and the West have been braced for escalation in the Middle East since Iran, Hezbollah’s sponsor, vowed revenge for the assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. 

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