Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Sunday, in a staunch message to Hezbollah said the country would take all measures necessary to defend itself. The stern message from Netanyahu came minutes after the Iranian-backed Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel in retaliation for the killing of a senior commander. "We are determined to do everything possible to defend our country, to return the residents of the north safely to their homes and to continue to uphold a simple rule: Whoever harms us – we harm him," he said in a statement.
Air raid sirens were reported throughout northern Israel, and Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport closed and diverted flights for approximately an hour due to the threat of attack. Israel’s Home Front Command has raised the alert level in northern Israel and encouraged people to stay near bomb shelters.
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One killed in Lebanon
Barely minutes ago, Lebanon state media reported that an Israeli air strike on a car in the southern Lebanese town of Khiam on Sunday left one person dead. Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported that two people were wounded in the Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon. One of them, a 17-year-old Syrian, was hospitalized, civil defence officials said. Separately, the state-run National News Agency reported that a man was killed in a strike on a car in the town of Khiam.
"US closely watching"
In the US, a spokesman for the National Security Council, Sean Savett, said President Joe Biden was “closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon.” “At his direction, senior US officials have been communicating continuously with their Israeli counterparts,” Savett added. “We will keep supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, and we will keep working for regional stability.”
The Pentagon said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, about Israel’s defences against Hezbollah. Austin “reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s defence against any attacks by Iran and its regional partners and proxies,” a statement said.
In recent weeks, diplomats from the US and European countries have made a flurry of visits to Israel and Lebanon in an attempt to tamp down the escalation that they fear could spiral into a regional war.
Last week, Israel’s defence minister said he was moving more troops toward the Lebanese border in anticipation of possible fighting with Hezbollah. Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, another Israeli military spokesman, said the military had struck in self-defence.
“We can see that Hezbollah is preparing to launch an extensive attack on Israel while endangering the Lebanese civilians,” he added, without providing details. ”We warn the civilians located in the areas where Hezbollah is operating to move out of harm’s way immediately for their own safety,” he added.
(With inputs from agency)
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