Israel will “react with strength against any attack… and will view the State of Lebanon as responsible,” countered Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz.
By World Israel News Staff
The leader of the Hezbollah movement has warned Israel against any future attacks on Lebanon “saying that in case of such attack all Israeli forces will be at risk,” reports Tehran-based Press TV.
Hezbollah is a Lebanese-based terror group which serves as a proxy for Iran. It also maintains a faction in Lebanon’s parliament.
Its leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, issued his warning to Israel in a televised speech on Monday, reports Press TV. He said that Sunday’s operation by Hezbollah fighters was meant to send the message to Israel that “if you attack, then all your border and forces will be at risk.”
Hezbollah fired anti-tank missiles at Israeli positions near the Lebanese border in the Sunday attack, triggering Israeli artillery fire which caused some fires, reported The Associated Press. The IDF said that there were no Israeli casualties.
The Lebanon-Israel border was mostly calm with U.N. peacekeepers patrolling the border Monday, AP added.
The Israeli military revealed that it was ready to deliver a decisive blow to the terror group’s missile program, according to a report by Israel’s Channel 12 News.
The IDF sources that relayed the information to Channel 12 claimed that IAF fighter jets had taken flight on Sunday to initiate the counter-strike, but were sent back to Israeli territory when Hezbollah’s attack on Israel failed to cause any casualties.
Nasrallah repeated his calls for retaliation against Israel for attacks on terror targets in Syria and Lebanon. Israel has taken credit for only one of the attacks – a strike on a squad of drone operators in Syria preparing to launch kamikaze-style attacks on Israeli targets.
“Mark September 1, 2019, as it coincides with the onset of a new stage in [our] support for Lebanon’s borders,” Nasrallah warned.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cautioned Nasrallah last week, “Be careful what you say and be more careful what you do.”
Israel also reportedly warned Lebanon through U.S. channels to rein in Hezbollah.
Foreign Minister Israel Katz called upon his German counterpart Heiko Maas to relay a message that Israel has no interest in seeing an escalation of the situation along the Lebanese border but is prepared for all scenarios and will “react with strength against any attack against it, and will view the State of Lebanon as responsible,” according to a statement from the Israeli foreign minister’s office issued late Monday.