JERUSALEM — Israel’s prime minister says the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah will face an “iron fist” if it attacks Israel again.
Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel’s monthlong 2006 summer war with Hezbollah was justified to protect Israel from a radical Islamic threat on its doorstep. He spoke at a ceremony on Tuesday marking 10 years since the war with the Iran-backed group.
He says anyone who dares attack Israel again would face a “forceful response.”
The 2006 conflict killed about 1,200 Lebanese, including hundreds of civilians, and about 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers. Israeli airstrikes heavily damaged Lebanon’s infrastructure, while Hezbollah fired several thousand rockets into Israel.
Israel say Hezbollah’s improved missile arsenal can now strike virtually anywhere in the country but that the war re-established Israeli deterrence and provided a decade of quiet.
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