Jerusalem: The United States on Monday cautioned Israel about escalation with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah as Israel weighs its response to a rocket attack from Lebanon over the weekend that killed 12 youths in the Israel-controlled Golan Heights.
The attack has again increased concerns about a wider regional conflict. Cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has occurred almost daily since the war in Gaza began in October. On Monday, Israeli strikes killed two people on a motorcycle and injured three others in southern Lebanon, Lebanon’s state-run news agency said. Israeli military officials said only that it had struck Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure.
An official with a Lebanese group told The Associated Press that Hezbollah group has started moving precision-guided missiles but doesn’t want a full-blown war with Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the site of the rocket attack on Monday, but some residents of the Druze village protested by tossing his wreath aside and saying the tragedy shouldn’t be used for political purposes.