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‘It will be harsh’: Netanyahu warns Hezbollah of retaliation for soccer deaths

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‘It will be harsh’: Netanyahu warns Hezbollah of retaliation for soccer deaths

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Lebanon and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants braced for retaliatory strikes from Israel on Monday while Israel and Turkey traded angry threats as the war in Gaza threatened to explode across the Middle East.

An Israeli drone strike killed two Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon on Monday, but a more violent response was expected two days after a rocket strike killed 12 children and teens in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Israel and the U.S. say evidence indicates the missile was fired by Hezbollah, which the militant group has vehemently denied.

“The state of Israel will not and cannot let this pass,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday while visiting the Golan Heights.  “Our response will come, and it will be harsh.” 

Also Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz issued a warning to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after Erdogan said his forces could consider entering Israel to show “Israel can’t do these ridiculous things to Palestine.”

“Erdogan follows in the footsteps of Saddam Hussein and threatens to attack Israel,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a social media post that included side-by-side photos of Erdogan and Saddam. “Just let him remember what happened there − and how it ended.”

Saddam was Iraq’s president when he was captured by U.S. forces in 2003 and later executed.

What is Hezbollah? What to know about one of the most dangerous forces in the Middle East.

Developing:

∎ Israel wants to hurt Hezbollah but not prompt an all-out war, two Israeli officials who spoke on condition of anonymity told Reuters.

∎ Israel’s military said it had intercepted a drone that entered its airspace from Lebanon. Emergency sirens were activated as a precaution because of falling debris, but no deaths were reported.

Soccer field attack: Israel response could ‘tear Lebanon apart’

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned that an Israeli attack on Lebanon would carry “heavy consequences.” Pezeshkian, in an hour-long telephone conversation with French leader Emmanuel Macron, voiced concern about increasing tensions along the Israeli-Lebanon border. Iran supports Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based militant group that has been firing rockets into northern Israel since the Gaza war began in October. Pezeshkian’s office provided a readout of the call to state media.

“The Zionist regime will be making a big mistake if it attacks Lebanon, which will carry heavy consequences for them (Israelis),” the Iranian president warned.

There “was no daylight” between what Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden expressed in their separate meetings with Netanyahu last week, according to John Kirby, the White House’s national security communications adviser.

“Same points, same emphasis, same commitment and reaffirmation to help Israel continue to defend itself,” Kirby said. “Same reaffirmation by both the president and vice president that we want to see this cease-fire deal get enacted.”

–Rachel Barber

The U.S. Embassy in Beirut warned Americans not to visit Lebanon and suggested those already there either leave or “develop a crisis plan of action.” Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Rena Bitter, in a statement posted on social media, said Washington is “laser focused on … the complex and quickly changing” developments in the country.

A travel advisory for Lebanon says Americans in Lebanon should closely monitor local and international news, be aware of surroundings and avoid demonstrations and large gatherings.

The embassy noted that commercial flight schedules are already being altered because of the missile attacks and that, should commercial air travel halt, Americans there “should be prepared to shelter in place for long periods of time.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday and expressed condolences for those killed in the Golan Heights and a speedy recovery for those injured, according to a readout of the call released by the State Department. Blinken also reaffirmed the ‘ironclad’ U.S. commitment to Israeli security from Iran-backed militant groups including Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.

Blinken and Herzog discussed peace talks and “emphasized the importance of preventing escalation of the conflict and discussed efforts to reach a diplomatic solution to allow citizens on both sides of the border between Israel and Lebanon to return home,” the readout said. Rocket attacks back and forth across the border have driven tens of thousands of Lebonese and Israelis from their homes.

Contributing: Reuters

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