Airstrikes launched against multiple locations in southern Lebanon, state-owned national news agency reports, as IDF says it is striking Hezbollah

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Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant has posted to social media to say that overnight he spoke with US secretary of defense Lloyd Austin.

Gallant, whose position in Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet has recently been the subject of much speculation, said he “provided the secretary with a situation assessment of Hezbollah threats” and briefed him on “IDF operations to degrade Hezbollah’s ability to launch attacks against Israeli civilians.”