TEL AVIV, July 31. /TASS/. Israel can hear threats from everywhere after its strike on Beirut, where a commander of the Shiite movement Hezbollah’s armed group was killed, and therefore it is poised to give a harsh response to any aggression, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address to the nation.
"Citizens of Israel, challenging days are ahead. Since the strike in Beirut, we can hear threats sounding from everywhere. We are ready for any scenario and will stand united and determined against every threat. Israel will exact a heavy price for any aggression from any direction," he said.
The prime minister highly praised the Israeli service members for eliminating Fuad Shukr, a key commander of Hezbollah’s militant group, in the Lebanese capital and warned that other adversaries of his country may face a similar plight.
"We settled our score with Shukr and we will settle our score with anyone who launches strikes at us, who tries to harm us, who tries to kill our citizens, and who harms our country. Their blood is on their own hands," Netanyahu said.
On the evening of July 30, the Israeli army said that a strike had been carried out on the Lebanese capital of Beirut. The military confirmed that the precision operation had killed Shukr, who Israel believes was the right-hand man of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrullah, in charge of strategic issues, including missile weapons.
Israel claims that Shukr was behind the July 27 strike on the Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Israel-controlled Golan Heights, where 12 children were killed. Earlier, Hezbollah denied any involvement in the attack.