Israeli military vehicles burning along the Israeli-Lebanese border near Ghajar village, on January 28, 2015, following a Hezbollah missile attack. (Photo: AFP)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Iran was behind the deadly Hezbollah attack on northern Israel Wednesday, which killed two Israeli soldiers on patrol near the Lebanon border.
“It is Iran that stands behind the attack on us yesterday from Lebanon,” Prime Minister Netanyahu said at a memorial service for former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who died just over a year ago. “This is the same Iran that is trying to reach a deal now with world powers that will leave it with the capability of developing nuclear weapons, a deal which we vehemently oppose.”
The Israeli soldiers were killed Wednesday when Hezbollah fired five missiles at a convoy of Israeli military vehicles. According to a spokesman for the Israeli Defense Forces, the attack also wounded seven other soldiers, but four of whom were already released Thursday morning from the hospital.
Officials believe Hezbollah staged the attack as retaliation for an Israeli airstrike conducted on January 18 in southern Syria, which killed an unconfirmed number of Hezbollah terrorists and an Iranian general.
“We will continue to defend ourselves against every threat, both near and far,” Netanyahu added. “Arik (Sharon) understand very well the Iranian regime’s character, and what he said then still stands today.”
Following the attack, the prime minister gathered with Israel’s security chiefs at the IDF command’s headquarters in Tel Aviv Wednesday to assess the attack.
“Whoever is behind today’s attack will pay the full price,” he opened the briefing by saying. “For some time now Iran is trying, via Hezbollah, to set-up a terrorist front against us in the Golan Heights. We are working aggressively and responsibly against this attempt.”
In fact, the IDF tweeted a picture of the region as a confirmation that they are carrying out the prime minister’s orders effectively.
Our #soldiers stand guard on the northern border; ready to guard & protect the State of #Israel pic.twitter.com/K2JBuDApHJ
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) January 29, 2015
Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon confirmed on Thursday that Israel received a message from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah that it was backing away from further violence.
“There are lines of coordination between us and Lebanon via UNIFIL (the UN force) and such a message was indeed received from Lebanon,” Ya’alon said.
However, PPD was not able to confirm the claim with Hezbollah officials, who could not immediately be reached for comment. But Israeli officials aren’t taking their word for it just yet.
“I can’t say whether the events are behind us,” Ya’alon said in a separate radio interview. “Until the area completely calms down, the Israel Defense Forces will remain prepared and ready.”
