Israeli Minister Urges against New Lebanon War

Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett has warned that "any future battle with Lebanon will witness the launch of a large number of rockets at northern and central Israel."

"Another battle in Lebanon will lead to damages to the (Israeli) domestic front on a scale not seen since the independence war," Bennett cautioned.

He stressed the need to "do everything to prevent any future confrontation with Lebanon."

Israel and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hizbullah fought a devastating war in 2006 that killed around 1,200 civilians in Lebanon.

Bennett's remarks come in the wake of massive Israeli airstrikes against Syrian and Iranian targets in Syria.

Hizbullah, which is backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his country's civil war, has hailed Syria's air defenses for downing an Israeli warplane during Saturday's flare-up, saying it marked the start of a "new strategic era."

"This is the beginning of a new strategic era which puts an end to the violation of Syrian airspace and territory," Hizbullah said in a statement.

Israel struck what it said were Iranian targets inside Syria on Saturday in "large-scale" raids after an Israeli warplane crashed under fire from Syrian air defenses, its military said.

The confrontation was the most serious between arch-foes Israel and Iran since the civil war in Syria began in 2011.

Israel said the raids came after it intercepted what it said was an Iranian drone entering its airspace from Syria.

Israel has also launched dozens of airstrikes against Hizbullah targets in Syria since the eruption of the civil war there. It says the raids are aimed at blocking the delivery of advanced Iranian weapons to Hizbullah.