The Lebanese Resistance Movement Hezbollah said on Monday that it would respond to the targeting of civilians in Lebanon, Al-Jazeera reported.
This comes amid the continued mutual shelling between the two sides across the Lebanese-Israeli border and threats by Tel Aviv that the war is getting closer.
In a statement on Monday evening, Hezbollah said that it fired missiles at the Kiryat Shmona settlement in response to Israel’s targeting of a funeral in the town of Ayta ash Shab in southern Lebanon.
The statement added that “any harm to civilians will be reciprocated.”
An Israeli missile hit the funeral procession of a Hezbollah fighter in Ayta ash Shab, without any casualties recorded, according to Al-Jazeera.
On Monday, Hezbollah announced that its fighters targeted two Iron Dome platforms north of the Capri settlement, and a gathering of Israeli soldiers and their vehicles near the Hamra site.
The Israeli army also announced that the air defenses intercepted two drones launched from Lebanese territory towards the northern settlements, one of which was intercepted over the city of Safed.
⚠️ BREAKING:
Israel bombed a funeral in Lebanon.
During the funeral of a Hezbollah soldier in south Lebanon, an Israeli drone bombed a civilian house nearby. Mourners weren’t intimidated and proceeded with the funeral shouting “death to Israel”. More people showed up. pic.twitter.com/i2QrIXv936
— Hadi Nasrallah (@HadiNasrallah) December 18, 2023
The Israeli Air Force carried out a series of raids on Lebanese territory, claiming it targeted military sites, missile launch pads, and infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah.
Israeli Threats
The Israeli army warned on Monday against any escalation along the border.
“We are closer to war today than we were yesterday,” an Israeli military spokesman was quoted by Al-Jazeera as saying.
The spokesman accused Hezbollah of “a systematic escalation along the border”, referring to the attacks that Hezbollah has carried out since October 8, in support of the Resistance in Gaza.
The Israeli spokesman reportedly added that Hezbollah “is involving Lebanon in a dangerous war.”
The statements came after the Israeli government threatened to launch a military operation to force Hezbollah to retreat beyond the Litani River, approximately 30 kilometers from the border.
The American news site Axios quoted Israeli and US officials as saying that Israel informed the Biden Administration that it wants to push Hezbollah approximately 10 kilometers from the border.
The website reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant informed US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that Israel is ready to give diplomacy a chance, but “stressed they want to see progress in the next few weeks”.
Axios also said that American officials are trying to reach a diplomatic solution between Lebanon and Israel, but without any significant progress so far.
Israel attempted to invade Lebanon in 2006 but was defeated by a much weaker Hezbollah if compared to the group’s current military capabilities.
(PC, AJA)
The way that Israel is ‘allowed’ to bomb anyone shows how dark this world has become.
Israel will cease to exist, should it go to war with Hezbollah