Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel was destroying "thousands" of rockets and missiles aimed at Israeli cities as Israeli warplanes bombed Lebanon, killing at least 182 people.
Speaking at the beginning of a security assessment meeting at the Air Force Command Center in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu said the strikes were "shifting the balance of power" between Israel and Hezbollah.
Since early Monday, Israel unleashed three waves of airstrikes, targeting more than 300 locations in Lebanon.
The military also called residents to flee their homes, saying the large-scale airstrikes are targeting civilian buildings where Hezbollah allegedly hides missiles. "We are destroying thousands of missiles and rockets aimed at Israel's cities and citizens," Netanyahu said. "I want to clarify Israel's policy -- we do not wait for a threat; we preempt it. Everywhere, in every arena, at any time. We eliminate senior figures, eliminate terrorists, eliminate missiles -- and we are far from done."
"Whoever tries to harm us, we will strike them with even greater force," he added, Xinhua news agency reported. Netanyahu said Israel is "facing complex days ahead," referring to potential further Hezbollah retaliation.
Also on Monday afternoon, Hezbollah retaliated with rockets fired toward areas near Haifa and the Jezreel Valley, targeting for a second consecutive day areas in northern Israel.
Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service reported no injuries in the latest attack, but earlier in the morning, five people were injured by rocket shrapnel. No fatalities have been reported on the Israeli side.
