Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah and Israel both announced large-scale military operations against each other today. According to a statement from Hezbollah, an Iran-backed group, “more than 320” Katyusha rockets were launched, targeting key Israeli military sites.

In response to the threat, the Israeli military initiated pre-emptive strikes on targets in Lebanon. The IDF announced these strikes early Sunday, stating that they had detected preparations by Hezbollah for “large-scale” attacks on Israeli territory. Israeli Air Force fighter jets have been deployed to neutralise these threats, focusing on Hezbollah positions that posed an immediate danger to Israeli civilians.

This escalation comes after weeks of growing tension, with Hezbollah and its regional ally, Iran, vowing to avenge the assassination of its military commander Fuad Shukr last month. The group has called the attack on its commander as a direct provocation and an act of war.

READ | Abraham Alliance vs Axis Of Resistance: Who’s Fighting Israel-Iran War

“In the context of the initial response” to the killing of Shukr, Hezbollah said it “began an air attack with a large number of drones” targeting deep into Israel. Hezbollah also targeted “a number of enemy positions and barracks and Iron Dome platforms… with a large number of rockets”, it said, adding that “military operations will take some time to complete”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has convened a security cabinet meeting at 0400 GMT today. According to a statement from Netanyahu’s office, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has declared a state of emergency across the country for the next 48 hours. This “special situation on the home front,” as it is officially termed, grants the IDF Home Front Command expanded authority to impose restrictions on the civilian population.

READ | “Self-Defence”: Israel Says Fired On Lebanon To Prevent Hezbollah Attack

“The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) identified the Hezbollah terrorist organization preparing to fire missiles and rockets toward Israeli territory. In response to these threats, the IDF is striking terror targets in Lebanon,” the Israeli military said in a statement. “Israeli Air Force (IAF) fighter jets are currently striking targets belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization that pose an imminent threat to the citizens of the State of Israel.’

As a precautionary measure, Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport announced delays and diversions of flights early Sunday. Emergency services have also raised their level of readiness, anticipating potential large-scale attacks from Hezbollah.

Responding to the heightened tensions in the region, the United States said it would “keep supporting Israel’s right to defend itself’. According to US National Security Council Spokesperson Sean Savett, “At President Joe Biden’s direction, senior US officials have been communicating continuously with their Israeli counterparts. We will keep supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, and we will keep working for regional stability.”

The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has seen near-daily exchanges of fire across the Israel-Lebanon border since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October. This latest flare-up has intensified fears of a full-scale conflict in Lebanon.

The current escalation follows increasing hostilities that began after Hamas’s unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7 last year, which resulted in the deaths of nearly 1,200 people, most of whom were civilians. Israel’s subsequent military campaign in Gaza has led to the deaths of over 40,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry. 
 

Actor Nagarjuna Akkineni has strongly condemned the authorities in Hyderabad for what he claimed was “unlawful” demolition of his N-Convention Centre in the city’s Madhapur neighbourhood.

He said he would have demolished the structure himself if the court where the matter is pending had decided against him, but the court had ordered an interim stay on the demolition work.

The authorities had said the N-Convention Centre was allegedly built on encroached land which is part of Tammidikunta lake.

The Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA), the municipal body, town planning, irrigation and revenue departments have been removing encroachments from the buffer zones of the lake. The N-Convention Centre was one of the unauthorised structures, the authorities said in a statement.

Responding to the demolition of his project, Nagarjuna Akkineni said he will go to court against the “wrong actions carried out by the authorities.”

“Pained by the unlawful manner of demolition carried out in respect of N Convention, contrary to existing stay orders and court cases. I thought it fit to issue this statement to place on record certain facts for protecting my reputation and to indicate that we have not done any actions in violation of law,” Nagarjuna Akkineni said in a post on X.

“The land is a patta land, and not even an inch of tank plan is encroached. In respect of the building constructed inside the private land, there is a stay order granted against any earlier illegal notice for demolition,” Nagarjuna Akkineni said, referring to the Telangana High Court’s interim order halting the demolition of N-Convention Centre, following a petition by the facility’s management.

“Today clearly, the demolition was carried out wrongfully based on misinformation. No notice was issued prior to carrying out the demolition this morning. As a law-abiding citizen, if the court before which the matter is pending, had decided against me, I would have carried out the demolition myself,” the actor said.

“I am placing this on record for the purpose of correcting any public misimpression about wrongful constructions or encroachment by us. We would be seeking appropriate relief from the court in relation to the wrong actions carried out by the authorities,” he said.

Pained by the unlawful manner of demolition carried out in respect of N Convention, contrary to existing stay orders and Court cases.
I thought it fit to issue this statement to place on record certain facts for protecting my reputation and to indicate that we have not done any…

— Nagarjuna Akkineni (@iamnagarjuna) August 24, 2024

According to the HYDRAA, in 2014, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) issued a notification for Tammidikunta lake describing its buffer zones. N-Convention had then approached the high court. The final notification was issued in 2016.

Due to encroachments in and around Tammidikunta lake and connecting drains, the area around Madhapur have been facing water-logging issues, HYDRAA had said.

N-Convention on its website says it is managed by N3 Enterprises and jointly owned by Nagarjuna Akkineni and Nalla Preetham.

In Vasai, after a 7-year-old girl revealed sexual abuse by a canteen boy, the school’s principal promptly filed an FIR. The accused, who recently joined, did not undergo police verification. The police investigation is ongoing.