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Israel tells US: Expect ‘disproportionate’ force if Hezbollah wounds civilians

Israel believes Hezbollah will target military assets located in Tel Aviv, near densely populated civilian neighborhoods.

By World Israel News Staff

Israel threatened to respond “disproportionately” should Hezbollah harm Israeli civilians during a retaliatory strike, following the assassination of a senior Hezbollah military commander in Beirut.

On July 31st, Fuad Shukar – a longtime Hezbollah member who essentially served as a general within the terror group – was slain by an Israeli airstrike in the heart of Dahiyeh, a Hezbollah stronghold.

Since the strike, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has repeatedly threatened that it will avenge Shukar’s death by exacting a heavy price from Israel.

According to an Axios report, Israel believes that Hezbollah may target the Kirya, the IDF’s headquarters located in central Tel Aviv. Other sensitive military and intelligence assets in the northern Tel Aviv area could also be targeted by the terror group.

Those sites are located near residential neighborhoods, and a missile deviating slightly from its course could easily lead to the deaths of innocent civilians.

Through American interlocuters, Israeli officials reportedly warned Hezbollah that it should expect a “disproportionate response” should civilians be hurt or killed.

“As things stand, [Hezbollah chief] Nasrallah may drag Lebanon into paying extremely heavy prices. They can’t even imagine what might happen,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told soldiers from the 646th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade on Wednesday, according to a transcript of his statements published by his office.

“This may also deteriorate into a war. It’s not theoretical, it’s real,” he added.

“We will know how to launch a very quick attack anywhere in Lebanon, anywhere in Gaza, anywhere in the Middle East, aboveground and belowground,” said IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi while touring the Tel Nof Air Force base on Wednesday.

“We will send a very clear message to our enemies, those who attack us, those who in every speech talk about how they seek to destroy the State of Israel. We will strike them, and we will continue to grow stronger,” he said.