Hezbollah launched a barrage of 19 rockets into Israel yesterday in the most severe escalation of tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border since the 2006 war. The barrage–ten of the rockets were intercepted by Iron Dome batteries while the rest landed harmlessly–followed IDF artillery and air strikes into Lebanon in retaliation for two incidents of rocket fire from Lebanon into Israel earlier in the week which were attributed to Palestinian groups inside Lebanon. Hezbollah said that its rocket fire was in response to the Israeli strikes to deter Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty. Hezbollah even posted video of what it said was the rocket launcher in an uninhabited area, showing that it was not putting civilians at risk.
“Hezbollah has publicly committed itself to the principle that any attack on the Lebanese territory would draw an appropriate response,” Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem said on Aug. 6 , reported PressTV. “Israel must understand that Lebanon is not an open arena for settling accounts and testing its capabilities,” he asserted. Sheikh Qassem described Lebanon as a protected area, and that, “Israel must remain deterred; otherwise we are ready to respond.”
