A Hezbollah official told Newsweek that „any attack will be met with a response.“
A Hezbollah official has told Newsweek that the group was prepared to respond to any Israeli operation conducted in retaliation for a deadly strike in an Israel-occupied town that has been blamed on the Lebanese movement.
„With all certainty, any attack will be met with a response“, the Hezbollah spokesperson said. „No doubt about that.“
The remarks came just as local media reported an explosion at the Hezbollah Shura Council building in southern Beirut. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) later issued a statement claiming „a targeted strike in Beirut, on the commander responsible for the murder of the children in Majdal Shams and the killing of numerous additional Israeli civilians.“
Newsweek reached out to the IDF for comment.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had vowed a day earlier to pursue „a severe response“ at the site of an apparent rocket attack on Saturday that Israeli officials said killed 12 children and teenagers at a soccer pitch in Majdal Shams, a majority-Druze village in the Golan Heights. The Golan Heights were seized during the Arab-Israeli war of 1967 but remain internationally recognized as part of Syria and now, once again, are on the frontlines of a potential major regional escalation.
Hezbollah denied its role in the attack on Majdal Shams, but both Israeli and United States officials have affirmed the group’s responsibility.
