“كتلة لهب كبيرة في السماء”… صور وفيديو من الصراع “الكبير” بين الحزب وإسرائيل

“A Massive Fireball in the Sky”… Photos and Videos from the Major Conflict Between Hezbollah and Israel

Amid the recent tensions between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon over the “major attack” that targeted northern Israel and a region near Tel Aviv, the Israeli Ministry of Defense released a video showcasing the strikes on the Lebanese border.

The video, posted on the Ministry's X account last night, featured footage of what the Israeli military claimed were strikes on Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon. It also depicted the interception of a drone by a combat helicopter, radio communications from the strikes, and aerial refueling over Lebanese skies.

Additionally, the video showcased an F-35 fighter jet and a combat helicopter. Photos published by Agence France-Presse on Sunday morning captured attention, displaying a massive fireball in the sky during the escalation between Israel and Hezbollah.

The images, taken from a northern Israeli location, show the moment a Hezbollah drone exploded after being intercepted by an Israeli fighter's missile, according to AFP. Numerous Arab and Western media outlets circulated the sequence of the drone's mid-air destruction.

Meanwhile, a U.S. official revealed that the United States provided Israel with several reconnaissance images taken by warplanes and drones during the Sunday morning airstrikes on Lebanon. The unnamed official told The New York Times that “some surveillance images were provided to Israel for targeting Hezbollah's rocket launch platforms.”

Sources also indicated that the U.S. shared intelligence regarding Hezbollah's preparations and locations. A Pentagon official confirmed that the U.S. did not directly participate in the Israeli operation but provided some intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance support.

Hezbollah, on the other hand, claimed to have launched 340 rockets and drones at northern Israel, including an attack on the Glilot military base (8200) in northern Tel Aviv, a claim denied by Israel, which stated that no base or military barracks were hit in Tel Aviv or its surroundings, nor in the north.

Israeli military intelligence assessments suggested that Hezbollah had planned to target intelligence centers in the Glilot area of Tel Aviv, including the Mossad headquarters and Base 8200, though these sites had been partially evacuated beforehand.

Despite the international concern sparked by these clashes, both parties communicated through intermediaries that the escalation had ended. The geographical nature of Israel's targeting of villages and sites in southern Lebanon, along with Hezbollah's strikes, indicated that this military escalation was contained without further expansion. Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah announced yesterday that this round of retaliatory strikes in response to the assassination of senior military commander Fouad Shukr in Beirut's southern suburbs on June 30th had concluded.

The Israeli delegation's visit to Cairo yesterday, despite the strikes, also suggested that the situation had been contained. However, the situation remains tense, with Israel closely monitoring Iran and its affiliates in the region.