JERUSALEM/BEIRUT: Israel wants to hurt Hezbollah but not drag the Middle East into all-out war, two Israeli officials said on Monday, as Lebanon braced for retaliation after a rocket strike that killed 12 children and teenagers in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Two other Israeli officials said Israel was preparing for the possibility of a few days of fighting following Saturday’s rocket strike at a sports field in a Druze town that it blamed on the Hezbollah.
Hezbollah has denied any connection with the incident.
All four Israeli officials, who included a senior defence official and a diplomatic source, spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity and gave no further information about Israel’s plans for retaliation.
“The estimation is that the response will not lead to an all-out war,” said the diplomatic source. “That would not be in our interest at this point.”
The incident has increased concerns that months of cross-border hostilities between Israel and the heavily armed Hezbollah could spiral into a broader, more destructive war.
Netanyahu, visiting site of Golan rocket fire, vows ‘severe’ response
On Sunday, Israel’s security cabinet authorised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant to decide on the manner and timing of a response to the strike in the Golan town of Majdal Shams.
Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper quoted unidentified officials as saying the response would be “limited but significant”.
The report said options ranged from a limited attack on infrastructure, including bridges, power plants and ports, to hitting Hezbollah arms depots or targeting Hezbollah commanders.
In a statement issued by his office on Monday after he visited Majdal Shams, Netanyahu said: “The state of Israel will not and cannot let this pass. Our response will come and it will be harsh.”
Prompted by the Gaza war, the hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah have been their worst since they went to war in 2006.
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