Netanyahu says Israel will make Hezbollah pay 'heavy price' for soldiers killed
The Israeli military said strikes were ongoing on Friday after four of its soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel, were killed in an attack on a tank in a village near the southern Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh. An explosive drone attack wounded another five, it added.
Israel then launched multiple strikes against "Hezbollah infrastructure sites" in Nabatiyeh and other areas, according to a military statement, which accused the militant group of "blatant ceasefire violations."
Later, the military said it also struck targets in the Beqaa Valley in eastern Lebanon, with Lebanese media saying the village of Douris was hit.
"Israel will not tolerate attacks on our soldiers or on our territory, and it will exact a very heavy price from Hezbollah for these attacks," Netanyahu said in a statement Friday.
Hezbollah acknowledged targeting Israeli tanks and said its attacks were in response to what it called Israel’s own violation of the ceasefire. It said the attacks came after Israeli forces attempted to reach the northern side of Ali al-Taher hilltop, a strategic point that overlooks Nabatiyeh and that Israeli troops have been trying to capture.
The fighting threatens to unravel the newly signed deal. Beyond ending the hostilities in Lebanon, the agreement calls for ensuring Lebanon’s "territorial integrity and sovereignty."
It does not say whether that means Israel would withdraw from the large swaths of southern Lebanon it has occupied since Hezbollah joined the war in its early days by firing rockets and drones at northern Israel.
Iran has insisted Israel pull back, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that forces would remain in a "security zone" of southern Lebanon as long as "Israel’s security needs require it."
Israeli troops will stay in Lebanon "as long as necessary", Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, vowing to make Iran-backed Hezbollah pay a "heavy price" for its attacks.
"Israel will remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon for as long as necessary for the protection of the communities of the north."
Defense Minister Israel Katz had also said the military would stay in Lebanon, adding it would respond "with considerable force" to any attack.
Israel’s actions in Lebanon have created a rift between Israel and the U.S., with Trump becoming increasingly critical of his close ally Netanyahu.
The U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, came to Israel’s defense on Friday, however, noting the deaths of the soldiers in a post on X.
"Israel strikes when struck," he wrote. "Ceasefire happens when Hezbollah stops shooting & killing."
Source: Associated Press
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