TEMPO.CO, Tel Aviv – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to launch massive assaults against Hezbollah and accused Iran of being behind the attack carried out by the group.
“Those behind the attack today will pay full price,” said Netanyahu on Wednesday. “For a long time Iran has been using Hezbollah to establish a terror front against us on the Golan."
Netanyahu held an emergency meeting with Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz after the incident on Wednesday, when two Israeli soldiers and a Spanish peacekeeper were killed in an exchange of fire between Hezbollah and Israel.
The soldiers were killed when Hezbollah fired five missiles at a convoy of Israeli military vehicles. Israel responded to the attack with air strikes and artillery fire.
The situation subsided after Hezbollah sent a message that they were backing away from further violence. Yaalon said on Thursday that Israel received the message through the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
"Indeed, a message was received," Yaalon said. "There are lines of coordination between us and Lebanon via UNIFIL and such a message was indeed received from Lebanon."
In a meeting in New York on Wednesday, the UN Security Councul condemned the killing of the peacekeeper. However, the Security Council and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-mmon could not confirm who was responsible for the attack.
REUTERS | ALJAZEERA | DPA | TELEGRAPH
