Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant told his US counterpart Lloyd Austin that Israel will forcefully respond to Hezbollah after it targeted an Israeli military base, killing four soldiers.
The minister’s office said in a statement that Galant spoke to Austin overnight and stressed “The severity of the attack and the strong response that will be taken against Hezbollah.”
Galant also said in a video clip: “This is a difficult incident, and the IDF will investigate it and quickly learn the lessons.”
The Israeli army’s chief of staff, Herzi Halevi, visited the Golani base that was attacked by a Hezbollah drone.
“We are in a state of war and an attack on a training base is dangerous and its consequences are painful. You acted correctly in treating and evacuating the wounded and victims,” Halevi said.
“We continue to fight and train for the coming battles.”
Hezbollah’s drone attack
Hezbollah announced in a statement that “In a qualitative and complex operation, the party’s missile force launched dozens of missiles at various targets in the areas of Nahariya and Acre with the aim of distracting the Israeli air defense systems. At the same time, the air force launched squadrons of various drones, some of which were being used for the first time, towards various areas in Acre and Haifa.”
The statement added: “The special drones were able to penetrate the Israeli air defense radars without being detected and reached their target in a training camp for the elite Golani Brigade in the Binyamina area south of Haifa, and exploded in the rooms where dozens of Israeli enemy officers and soldiers were present who were preparing to participate in the attack on Lebanon, including senior officers, which resulted in the killing and wounding of dozens.”
Galant vowed on Sunday to prevent Hezbollah from returning to its combat positions along the border between Lebanon and Israel even, after the Israeli army withdraws from the area.
“Even when the army withdraws its forces, we will not allow Hezbollah terrorists to return to these areas,” the Israeli defense minister said while inspecting an observation post overlooking southern Lebanon.
