The 24 hours that put the Middle East ‘on the brink’

How Israel’s assault on Lebanon – and Iran’s fiery response – unfolded

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed shortly after 2am local time that they had launched ground operations in Lebanon, the first major incursion into the country since 2006.
It followed days of devastating air strikes focusing on the Shia-dominated south of Lebanon, as well as Beirut, which killed Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader, and a slew of his key lieutenants.
As Tuesday began, it emerged that Israeli special forces had conducted a number of cross-border raids over the weekend, preparing the way for a “limited, localised and targeted ground offensive”.
By breakfast time, the IDF said it was involved in “intense fighting” with Hezbollah. The language was a reminder that air strikes or not, the Shia group is immeasurably better trained and prepared than Hamas, Israel’s enemy in Gaza.
In what could be considered an echo of the campaign in Gaza, the IDF warned Lebanese civilians not to drive south of the Litani River, which runs parallel with the border.
As their troops advanced, Israeli jets and artillery pounded the area.
From the far south of the region, the Yemen-based Houthi rebels began to target Tel Aviv and Eilat with drones.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah tried to strike back by firing Fadi-4 missiles at the Glilot Base headquarters of the Mossad intelligence agency, north of Tel Aviv. They missed but succeeded in injuring two people, including a bus driver who was hit in the head with shrapnel.
Four further reserve brigades were mobilised for Israel’s northern operation, the army announced.
By early afternoon, footage emerged showing Israeli commandos entering Hezbollah’s feared network of tunnels at some point in the past year, reinforcing the analysis that Operation Northern Arrows had been under intense preparation for many months.
No sooner had Israeli society begun to process the news, than the warnings began of a potential retaliation from its arch-foe Iran.
Washington warned that Tehran was preparing to “imminently” launch a ballistic missile attack on Israel. A White House official warned of “severe consequences” if it did.
Iran launched a barrage of rockets and drones in April, but in a manner judged to have made it easy for Israel and its allies to shoot most of them down, thus stopping short of a full-on war.
Potentially, this was different. Was the regional conflagration that has been warned of for so much of the last year about to ignite?
Citing “great challenges” ahead, Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, spoke directly to the nation, asking his people “to strictly obey the directives of the Home Front Command. It saves lives”. Secondly, he asked them “to stand together”.
In the north, the IDF carried on much as before, adding a “precise strike” in Beirut to its barrage in the hills.
But by then all eyes were on Iran. Joe Biden said the US was prepared to help Israel defend itself.
Air raid sirens began to sound throughout Israel. For the benefit of any Israeli civilians thinking twice about heading to a shelter, Rear-Adm Daniel Hagari, the IDF spokesman, warned the population that the country’s formidable Iron Dome and other air defences were “not hermetic”.
By 8pm Israel time, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced it had fired ballistic missiles. Explosions were heard in Jerusalem. Footage began to be uploaded showing tens of missiles at a time streaking across the sky.
It soon became plain that the barrage was massive, reportedly involving nearly 200 missiles. 
Footage shot from a rooftop in Tel Aviv showed a rocket or its fragments hitting the north of the city.
Footage also emerged of civilians in Gaza, who have been under bombardment for the best part of a year, celebrating as missiles flew overhead.
In the West Bank, a Palestinian man was killed by missile shrapnel near Jericho, according to local media.
At the same time, grisly footage emerged of a gruesome terror attack in Tel Aviv, with six killed as two gunmen opened fire on civilians at a railway station.
In Washington, Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, said the missile attack was “defeated and ineffective”.
“This was first and foremost the result of the professionalism of the IDF, but in no small part because of the skilled work of the US military and meticulous joint planning in anticipation of the attack.”
Israel, as has become customary, vowed revenge, but on its terms. “This attack will have consequences. We have plans, and we operate at the place and time we decide,” said Adm Hagari.