Israel-Hezbollah conflict latest: Netanyahu vows strikes in Lebanon ‘not the end’

One Israel navy soldier was killed and two wounded during combat in northern Israel on Sunday, the Israeli military said.

It gave no details of the circumstances of the soldier’s death but Israeli media reported it occurred on a naval vessel offshore as an interceptor from Israel‘s Iron Dome aerial defence system engaged a drone fired by Hezbollah.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has claimed that Hezbollah did not use precision missiles in their strikes this morning but that they could use them in the near future.

In a lengthy speech, he added that Hezbollah had targeted an Israeli military intelligence base just outside of Tel Aviv and had ruled out targeting civilian infrastructure.

Jordan has warned that heightened escalation between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah could lead to a “regional war” that would threaten stability.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Sufain Qudah said that Israel‘s relentless “aggression” in Gaza and the failure to reach a ceasefire was exposing the region to the dangers of an expansion of the conflict, Jordanian state media reported.

Israel and the Lebanon-based group Hezbollah exchanged messages via intermediaries on Sunday in order to prevent further escalation following one of the biggest exchanges of fire between the two foes in 10 months, two diplomats told Reuters.

The main message was that both sides considered that Sunday’s intense exchange of bombardment was “done” and that neither side wanted a full-scale war, one diplomat said. The diplomats spoke on condition they were not identified.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel took pre-emptive action against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement in Lebanon and said air defences had intercepted all rockets and drones launched against Israel.

He said that the leaders of Hezbollah and Iran should know that the response was “another step towards changing the situation in the north and returning our residents safely to their homes” and that “this is not the end of the story”.

Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant has debriefed his US counterpart Lloyd Austin on the exchange of rocket fire with the Hezbollah militia in southern Lebanon.

Fellow Iran-backed militia Hamas have released a message in support of Hezbollah’s attack on Israel.

“We praise and bless the great qualitative response carried out by Hezbollah against vital and strategic targets deep within [Israel].

“We condemn the occupation’s escalation of its brutal aggression against the sisterly Lebanese Republic in flagrant violation of international conventions

“[Israeli] intransigence reveals once again that it is a rogue entity that poses a threat to the region and international security and stability.”