Hezbollah Informs Lebanese, Western Officials of ‘Inevitability’ of Retaliation to Any Israeli Strike
Western countries intensified their warnings and contacts with Lebanese and Israeli officials to prevent the eruption of a broader conflict in Lebanon in wake of the Majdal Shams attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that left 12 youths dead. | Hezbollah has refused to offer any assurances, reiterating that it will “respond to any Israeli strike”. Israel wants to hurt Hezbollah but not drag the Middle East into all-out war, two Israeli officials said on Monday according to Reuters. Two other Israeli officials said Israel was preparing for the possibility of a few days of fighting following Saturday's rocket strike at a sports field in a Druze town that it blamed on the Iranian-backed Hezbollah. Hezbollah has denied its involvement in the attack.
■ Iran's new president warns Israel against attacking Lebanon (Naharnet/Agence France Presse)