Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator
At 4:45 am., local time, Sunday August 25, Israel began a series of 50 preemptive airstrikes over villages in the south of Lebanon resulting in civilian casualties and injuries.
According to Israel, they had information that Hezbollah was planning a massive attack on Israel using 6,000 missiles. Israel claimed to have hit missile launchers and weapon storages.
At 5:00 am. Hezbollah responded with 320 missiles and tens of drones. The large number of missiles rendered the sophisticated "Iron Dome" Israeli air defense system ineffective. The exact extent of the damages in Israel is not known, but there were significant losses.
One missile fired by the Lebanese resistance group, Hezbollah, made a direct hit on the Davoura, an Israeli military boat. The ship was sunk with one dead and five injured.
The drones all hit targets successfully and none were shot down. The GPS system in Israel was rendered useless by an unknown source simultaneously as the attack commenced. Some experts have pondered if the GPS system was scrambled to coordinate with the operation.
Israeli settlers have used social media sites, such as Telegram, to post videos of damages homes and burning buildings as a result of the attack.
According to the manager of Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, over 50 airlines have cancelled flights.
The US Embassy in Lebanon has emailed its citizens to leave Lebanon; however, to make evacuation plans which do not depend on the American government. According to the manager of the Rafik Hariri airport in Beirut, as of 2:00 pm. the airport was still functioning. Netanyahu has said if he decides to open a full-scale war on Lebanon, the Israeli air force will destroy the airport.
Israeli media had advised Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to inform the public as to what Hezbollah has hit prior to 6:00 pm, at which time Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, gave a televised speech. The Netanyahu government did not admit that the 8200 division of the Israeli Defense Forces based in the suburbs of Tel Aviv was hit, but Nasrallah said according to their sources on the ground, the 8200 division was hit. This unit is comparable the United States' National Security Agency, and is the largest single unit of Israel's Defense Forces carrying out intelligence, information technology, offensive and defensive cyber security operations.
AFP news agency posted videos of houses severely damaged in Acre, in northern Israel, 19 kilometers from the Lebanon border.
The Israeli media, Walla, reported that Israel had informed the US prior to the attack; however, the New York Times reported that an American official said there was no prior warning of the attack on the south of Lebanon.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert delivered to Haaretz newspaper on August 25 a scathing attack on Netanyahu and his two right-wing ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, whom he referred to as criminals. Olmert said Netanyahu does not want to free the hostages in an agreement, and does not seek to stop the military operation in Gaza.
Netanyahu ordered members of his cabinet from the Likud party and MPs to remain silent and refrain from media interviews, according to Haaretz.
The Mayor Tel Aviv announced they have prepared 240 bunkers to be used as shelters.
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