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Hezbollah is preparing for an Israeli response after it was blamed for the July 27 blast that killed 12 people, all children and young adults, in the Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights, Reuters reported on July 28.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) alleged that the blast was caused by an Iranian-made rocket fired by Hezbollah. However, Hezbollah denied targeting Majdal Shams, whose Syrian population are known for their stand against the occupation of the Golan.
Two security sources told the news agency that Hezbollah had preemptively cleared out some key sites in both Lebanon’s south and the eastern Bekaa Valley in preparation for a possible attack by Israel.
Earlier in the day, IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said that the military was increasing its readiness for “the next stage in the fighting in the north.”
“We know exactly where the rocket was launched from. We examined here on the wall of the soccer field the remains of the rocket, and we know to say that it is a Falaq rocket with a fifty-three kilogram warhead. This is a Hezbollah rocket. And whoever fires such a rocket into an urban area wants to kill civilians, wants to kill children,” Halevi said in a video statement from the scene.
“We are greatly increasing our readiness for the next stage of fighting in the north, as we are simultaneously fighting in Gaza. We know how to attack even very far from the State of Israel. There will be more challenges, we will raise our readiness,” he added.
From his side, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that Hezbollah will face the consequences of its deadly attack on Majdal Shams “even with its ridiculous denials.”
“I went to the Northern Command to see the response plans. This is Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy in the region. Hezbollah will not go unpunished for this incident, even with its ridiculous denials,” Gallant said.
He went to allege again that Hezbollah launched the rocket, and vowed that the group “will bear the price and will pay a heavy price for its actions.”
The Lebanese government has asked the United States to urge restraint from Israel following the deadly strike, Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib told Reuters.
Bou Habib added the U.S. had asked the Lebanese government to pass on a message to Hezbollah to show restraint as well.
It is still unclear how Israel will respond to the alleged Hezbollah attack. However, there is no doubt that any escalation by the IDF will be met with a strong response from the group that could lead to a destructive all-out war between the two foes.
Hezbollah and its allies have been launching attacks from Lebanon against the IDF since the outbreak of the Israeli war on the Palestinian enclave of the Gaza Strip last October. So far, the IDF has very much limited its response to air and artillery strikes on Lebanon’s south and the eastern Bekaa Valley.
Still, the limited border clashes have so far claimed the lives of at least 30 Israelis and more than 500 people one the Lebanese side.
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