Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and Israeli forces traded hundreds of missile strikes on Sunday as their conflict along the border between the two counties threatened to erupt into an all-out war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to do “whatever it takes” to restore safety in the country’s north after Hezbollah retaliated to an Israeli attack that killed Hezbollah military leaders in Beirut on Friday and the militants blamed Israel for remotely detonating explosives in pagers and walkie-talkies inside Lebanon, killing at least 32 and injuring thousands.
Netanyahu said Israel in recent days had “dealt Hezbollah a series of blows they never imagined,” calling it a “message.” He spoke after Hezbollah launched dozens of missiles toward the Ramat David air base in northern Israel, near Haifa, early Sunday. The militant group said it was responding to the Israeli offensive this past week.
Hezbollah deputy secretary-general Naim Qassem said Hezbollah had started a new phase of its fight against Israel, which he described as an “open-ended battle of reckoning.” He spoke at a funeral for a top commander killed in the Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said on ABC News’ “This Week” show that Israel and Hezbollah must restrain themselves to keep the conflict from escalating into an all-out war.
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