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 teens 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 village.
The Druze are an Arab minority who practice a form of Islam and make up more than half of the 40,000 strong population of the Golan Heights
All four officials, who included a senior defence official and a diplomatic source, spoke 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.”
Israel and the United States have blamed Lebanon’s Hezbollah for the strike. Hezbollah has denied any role.
The incident has added to concerns that months of cross-border hostilities between Israel and the heavily armed Iran-backed Lebanese militant group could spiral into broader, more destructive war.
Rocket Strike
Late 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 rocket strike.
Israel’s largest newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, quoted unidentified officials as saying the response would be “limited but significant.”
The report said options for retaliation ranged from a limited but “photogenic” attack on infrastructure, including bridges, power plants and ports, to hitting Hezbollah weapons depots or targeting high-level Hezbollah commanders.
Prompted by the Gaza war, the hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah have been their worst since they went to war in 2006.
