Israeli fighter jets have flown over the Lebanese capital, setting off a series of sonic booms meant to intimidate the city’s population following drone attacks on northern Israel by the armed group, Hezbollah.
The low-flying planes rattled windows throughout Beirut on Tuesday, a reminder of the Israeli military’s capacity for devastation in Lebanon as Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah promised retaliation for a series of alleged Israeli assassinations.
“The Israelis chose escalation by carrying out assassinations,” Nasrallah said, adding that the group’s response would be “strong and effective” and carried out either alone or in coordination with other members of the Iran-backed “axis of resistance”.
“We will respond, but with deliberation and prudence,” the Hezbollah chief said. “Israel’s waiting for our response is part of the punishment.”
Tensions between Israel and the Iran-backed group are at their highest levels since the two sides began a series of limited, back-and-forth exchanges in October, with thousands displaced on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border.
The likely Israeli assassination of Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut last week, followed by a similar strike that killed Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, has all but guaranteed retaliatory attacks that experts worry could set off a full-scale war.
Hezbollah said on Tuesday that it had sent a swarm of drones to attack Israeli military positions in northern Israel, and Israeli authorities reported that 12 people south of the city of Nahariya were taken to the hospital after an Israeli missile interceptor misfired and struck the ground.
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