Hezbollah launched a drone attack on northern Israel that wounded eleven, at least one critically, on Wednesday. The Iranian proxy’s latest assault comes as prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu gears up for “very strong action” in the north.
“Whoever thinks that they can harm us and we will sit idly by is making a big mistake. We are prepared for a very strong action in the north,” Netanyahu said on Wednesday. “In one way or another, we will restore security to the north.”
Lebanon’s Hezbollah terrorists claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that they aimed for Israeli military outposts near the town of Hurfeish, which is less than one mile from the Israel–Lebanon border. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that Hezbollah fired an initial explosive-laden drone at a military post and fired a second drone at a group that arrived to help treat the first batch of wounded Israelis.
Terrorist forces have attacked Israel’s northern border since Hamas’s October attack. Tens of thousands of Israelis have evacuated their homes in the north, under threat of Hezbollah attacks. Israel is ready to begin an offensive in the north, Israeli Military Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi said this week, and Israel is close to making a decision as to how to strategically proceed in the region.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller called the tensions between Israel and Hezbollah “untenable” and “extremely dangerous” this week and added that while the U.S. does not support an all-out war in the north, Israel has a right to defend itself from terrorists.
Ten civilians and 14 IDF members have been killed by Hezbollah’s attacks near the border since October, Israel reports, and 330 Hezbollah members have been killed by Israel in Lebanon and Syria, the terrorist group says. Israeli president Isaac Herzog, in a speech, said Wednesday that “terrorist aggression must be stopped.”
“I turn from here to the international community and its leaders and stress — one cannot remain indifferent to this terrorism, from Lebanon or anywhere. Israel has been attacked daily, for many months, by Iran’s proxies in Lebanon, in a flagrant violation of all international agreements and resolutions,” Herzog said. “The world needs to wake up and realize that Israel has no choice but to protect its citizens, and it should come as no surprise when it does so — strongly and evermore resolutely. Do not be up in arms when the situation becomes out of control.”
Israel this week increased the number of reservists the IDF can call from 300,000 to 350,000, a decision the IDF said is not related to escalating tensions in northern Israel but rather due to the IDF’s ongoing ground operation in southern Gaza.