“We’re done for today.” Risk of escalation –

The pro-Iranian Lebanese Shiite party Hezbollah has claimed to have fired more than 320 Katyusha rockets at 11 military bases and barracks in northern Israel, in retaliation for the death of top commander Fouad Shukr, who was killed in a raid in the southern suburbs of Beirut on July 30. In a statement, the group said it had targeted Israeli military sites to facilitate the passage of drones loaded with explosives “to other targets deep inside” the Jewish state. Hezbollah later declared the attack over, announcing that it had “successfully completed” the “first phase” of the retaliation, suggesting that further responses could come tomorrow, as noted by the Times of Israel.

The Lebanese organization, which had claimed to have launched more than 320 rockets against northern Israel, stressed that the explosive drones launched from Lebanon flew towards their intended targets. Instead, it denies Tel Aviv’s action and this morning’s preemptive strikes in southern Lebanon: Israel’s claims “contradict the facts on the ground and will be refuted” by the leader of the terrorist group Hassan Nasrallah later today. Israel “does not want an all-out war” in the region. This was stated by Foreign Minister Israel Katz in a statement on X. “The country – wrote Gallant – is acting to protect its citizens and its territory” from what it calls an “axis of evil” led by Iran. Israel “will act according to developments on the ground,” the minister added.

Despite the escalation with Lebanon, the Cairo summit negotiations over the Gaza hostage deal will go ahead as scheduled today. “A high-ranking Israeli delegation is heading to Cairo today despite Hezbollah attacks,” an Israeli official told The Times of Israel. The Israeli negotiating team, including the director of the Mossad, the head of the Shin Bet and IDF Gen. Nitzan Alon, is expected to travel to Cairo for a meeting with CIA Director Bill Burns, Qatar’s prime minister and Egypt’s intelligence chief.