JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel launched a wave of airstrikes in southern Lebanon early Sunday in what it called a preemptive attack to ward off a major Hezbollah attack. The militant group responded by saying it had fired hundreds of rockets and drones to avenge the killing of one of its top commanders last month.

The fierce fighting does not appear to have sparked a long-feared war, but the situation remains tense. Egypt meanwhile hosted high-level talks aimed at brokering a ceasefire in the 10-month war between Israel and Hamas in GazaDiplomats hope this will ease tensions in the region.

The Israeli military said it struck because Hezbollah was planning to fire a heavy barrage of rockets and missiles. Shortly after, Hezbollah said it had carried out an attack on Israeli military positions in its first response to the murder of Fouad Shukur in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last month.

By mid-morning, the exchange appeared to have ended, with both sides saying they had only struck military targets. At least three fighters were killed in the strikes on Lebanon, while there were no reports of casualties in Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military had destroyed “thousands of rockets aimed at northern Israel.”

“We are determined to do everything to defend our country, to return the people of the north safely to their homes and to continue to uphold a simple rule: whoever harms us, we will harm,” he said.

Air raid sirens and flight diversions

Air raid sirens were reported across northern Israel, and Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport closed and diverted flights for about an hour due to the threat of attack. Israel’s Home Front Command raised the alert level in northern Israel before later lifting restrictions in most areas.

Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesman, said Hezbollah planned to strike targets in northern and central Israel. He said initial assessments showed “very little damage” in Israel, but that the military remained on high alert. He said about 100 Israeli aircraft took part in Sunday’s strikes.

Two Hezbollah fighters and a militant from an allied group were killed, the groups said. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said two people were wounded.

Hezbollah said the strike included more than 320 Katyusha rockets aimed at multiple locations in Israel and a “large number” of drones. It said the operation targeted “a high-quality Israeli military target to be announced later” as well as “enemy sites and barracks and Iron Dome (missile defense) platforms.”

Hezbollah said the strikes would enable it to launch more attacks deeper into Israel, but in a later statement said “military operations have been completed for today.” It rejected Israel’s claim that it had thwarted a more serious attack, without providing evidence for its own claims.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is expected to deliver a speech later on Sunday.

After an emergency government meeting, Lebanon’s interim Economy Minister Amin Salam said authorities are “slightly more optimistic” about a de-escalation.

“We feel reassured now that both sides have confirmed that the expected operations have ended, and we know that the negotiations in Cairo are very serious,” he said.

President Joe Biden was “closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon,” according to Sean Savett, a spokesman for the National Security Council.

The Pentagon said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, about Israel’s defenses. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. C.Q. Brown is on a visit to the region and is expected to visit Israel, Egypt and Jordan.

An all-out war seems to have been averted for the time being

Randa Slim, a senior fellow at the Washington, DC-based Middle East Institute, said Sunday morning’s exchange “still fell within the rules of engagement and would likely not lead to all-out war at this point.”

Danny Citrinowicz, an expert at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, said Hezbollah may be trying to “balance the equation without escalating into war.” Both sides now hope their narrative will be enough to declare victory and avoid a broader confrontation, he said.

Hezbollah began attacking Israel almost immediately after the start of the war in Gaza, which was triggered by Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7. Israel and Hezbollah exchange fire almost daily, leaving tens of thousands of people displaced on both sides of the border.

Hezbollah, which created a standoff against Israel in the summer of 2006, is believed to much more powerful than during that conflict. The United States and Israel estimate that it has about 150,000 missiles and can strike anywhere in Israel. The group has also developed drones that can evade Israeli defenses, as well as precision-guided munitions.

Israel has promised a devastating response to any major Hezbollah attack. It has an extensive multi-layered missile defense system and is backed by a U.S.-led coalition that helped it shoot down hundreds of missiles and drones fired from Iran earlier this year. The U.S. military is building up his strength in the region in recent weeks.

Hezbollah is a close ally of Iran, which also threatened retaliatory measures against Israel for the killing of a senior Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in an explosion in Tehran last month. Israel has not said whether it was involved.

Iranian state media on Sunday highlighted Hezbollah’s attack, calling it a success. However, there was no comment from Iranian officials.

The US and other mediators see a ceasefire in Gaza as key to preventing a broader Middle East conflagration. Hezbollah has said it will halt its attacks on Israel if a ceasefire in Gaza is reached.

Egypt is hosting high-level talks in Cairo on Sunday with the aim bridging the gap in an evolving proposal for a ceasefire and the release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas. The talks were to be attended by CIA Director William Burns and David Barnea, the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency.

Hamas has sent a delegation to the Egyptian capital to be briefed by Egyptian and Qatari mediators, but is not directly participating in the negotiations itself.

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Associated Press writers Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut, Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, Samy Magdy in Cairo and Aamer Madhani in Buellton, California, contributed.