Lebanese authorities said that an Israeli strike on a car in southern Lebanon led to the death of three young girls and their grandmother on Sunday, while the Israeli army said that an attack from Lebanon led to the death of a citizen in northern Israel.
Hezbollah said it responded to the Israeli strike by launching a barrage of Grad rockets on the town of Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel.
This is the first time that the group has announced the use of this particular weapon during the ongoing clashes on the border with Israeli forces for four weeks, which highlights the dangers of escalation.
Hezbollah said in a statement that it will never tolerate harm and attacks on civilians, and its response will be firm and strong.
Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah told Reuters, “This crime is a dangerous development in the Israeli aggression against Lebanon, and it has repercussions, and the enemy will pay the price for its crimes against civilians”.
Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Sunday that the army works based on intelligence information and carefully examines all the facts in Lebanon, in response to a question about reports of a car bombing that killed civilians in southern Lebanon.
He added in a press conference, “With regard to Lebanon, we carry out our attacks based on intelligence information, and we will continue to launch attacks… This is our mission… We will attack anyone who threatens us”.
He added, “We’re of course studying all the events in Lebanon to understand the details… That’s what I can say at this point”.
