Hezbollah chief says Israel crossed ‘all red lines’ with attacks

On Thursday morning, Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon fired two anti-tank missiles across the border, followed by drones.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said two Israeli soldiers were killed and a third seriously wounded.

The latest exchanges come at a time when Israel says its military focus has shifted away from Gaza to the situation in the north.

The IDF said on Thursday that its chief of staff, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, had “recently completed approval of plans for the northern arena”.

Later, at a meeting of military and intelligence chiefs, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said: “In the new phase of the war there are significant opportunities but also significant risks.”

“Hezbollah feels that it is being persecuted and the sequence of military actions will continue,” he added.

“Our goal is to ensure the safe return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes. As time goes by, Hezbollah will pay an increasing price.”

It is not clear how Israel intends to achieve this goal. But reports earlier this week suggested that the general in charge of the IDF’s Northern Command favoured the creation of an Israeli-controlled buffer zone inside southern Lebanon.

In his speech, Hassan Nasrallah called the general a fool and said that any such move would have dire consequences for Israel.