Israel on High Alert as it Boosts Deployment of Iron Dome along Lebanon Border
Israel is on high alert for possible attacks from Hizbullah following an airstrike on its members in Syria, Israeli defense officials said Tuesday, as the Jewish State boosted deployment of its "Iron Dome" anti-missile aerial defense system along its northern frontier.
Israel has also increased surveillance activities in the area which borders Lebanon and Syria, the officials said.
Israel's Security Cabinet is scheduled to meet to discuss a potential escalation in violence, they said.
Hizbullah claims Israel carried out Sunday's strike on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, which killed a prominent Hizbullah fighter, a senior Iranian general, and five other party members.
Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its role in the strike.
Although he did not mention Lebanon or Syria specifically, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that "Israel is adamant that it will have the right to defend itself against all those who wish to propagate terror and other attacks against its citizens, against its territory."
The prominent fighter killed, Jihad Mughniyeh, was the son of Imad Mughniyeh — a top Hizbullah operative widely considered to have built the movement's military operations infrastructure and the second most revered figure inside Hizbullah.
He was assassinated in 2008 in a Damascus car bombing that Hizbullah says was carried out by Israel's Mossad spy agency.
Source: Associated Press, Naharnet
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