The Israeli military says it has struck Hezbollah targets “deep inside” Lebanese territory and in southern Lebanon.
“Overnight, the IAF struck a series of Hezbollah terror targets both deep inside Lebanese territory and in southern Lebanon, including weapons caches and terrorist infrastructure in the areas of Chabriha, Borj El Chmali, and Beqaa, Kfarkela, Rab El Thalathine, Khiam, and Tayr Harfa,” the military said.
It follows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s warning that Lebanon’s militant group Hezbollah “will pay a heavy price” for an attack on a football pitch in the Golan Heights which killed at least 11 children and teenagers.
Israel blamed Hezbollah for the strike in the Israeli-controlled region, but Hezbollah rushed to deny any role – something it seldom does.
Mr Netanyahu, who cut short his trip to the US by several hours upon receiving news of the attack, said the Iran-backed militant group would be paying a price for the rocket attack it “has not paid so far”.
Foreign minister Israel Katz had earlier told Israeli Channel 12 that Hezbollah “has crossed all the red lines here”, before adding: “We are nearing the moment in which we face an all-out war.”
The Israeli military’s chief spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said 20 people were wounded in the Golan Heights strike, adding it was the deadliest attack on Israeli civilians since Hamas paraglided over the border from Gaza to carry out their massacre on 7 October.
Hamas’ attack on southern Israel triggered a retaliatory military campaign which, according to local health officials in Gaza, has claimed the lives of 39,000 people over the past nine months.
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