Netanyahu Warns Hezbollah 'Look What Happened to Hamas'
Netanyahu holds emergency meeting over Hezbollah attack on Har Dov, as airports and sites close in north.
Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on email Share on print More Sharing Services 30
By Ari Yashar, Gil Ronen
First Publish: 1/28/2015, 12:43 PM
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu responded to the
Hezbollah attack on Har Dov in the Golan Heights on Wednesday, in which seven Israelis were reportedly wounded following anti-tank, rocket and mortar fire.
As the fighting blazed on, Netanyahu said during a visit in the southern city of Sderot "in these moments the IDF is responding to the incidents in the north."
"To all those trying to challenge us on the northern border, I suggest looking at what happened here, not far from the city of Sderot, in the Gaza strip," he added, referring to Operation Protective Edge last summer that was launched in response to a Hamas missile escalation.
The prime minister concluded "Hamas absorbed the hardest blow since it was founded last summer, and the IDF is ready to act with force on any front."
Netanyahu cut short his visit to Sderot to hold an emergency meeting in Tel Aviv, where the Defense Ministry headquarters are located.
In response to the ongoing firefight in Har Dov, the domestic airports in Rosh Pina and Haifa were closed on Wednesday to avoid conflict with the heavy ongoing IAF aerial operations.
Likewise the Mount Hermon site, Israel's sole skiing spot, was evacuated, as were several nature reserves in the area. Several roads liable to come under fire were also closed.
Al Arabiya reported that Lebanese schools on the border had also been evacuated, possibly indicating intentions to further escalate from the Lebanese side.
Reports had aired earlier over the possibile abduction of a soldier, but those reports were later ruled out.
Iran-proxy Hezbollah fired rockets on Israel on Tuesday afternoon prompting an
Israeli response.
That exchange followed a reportedly Israeli strike on senior Hezbollah terrorists and an Iranian general last Sunday, who were apparently planning an attack on Israel. Hezbollah had threatened a response after the strike.