Israel hits Hezbollah targets in preparation for escalated conflict

June 29 (UPI) — Israel on Saturday struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in response to the militant group’s recent airstrike along the Israeli-Lebanese border.

The strike occurred in the morning when Hezbollah fired two anti-tank guided missiles from southern Lebanon toward Kibbutz Misgav Am. No injuries were reported.

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The group later confirmed responsibility for the strike, saying it was targeting Israeli spy equipment in Misgav Am in support of the Palestinian people. Israeli forces responded with artillery strikes toward the source of the missile launch.

Israeli fighter jets on Saturday also struck two buildings in Houla in southern Lebanon where Hezbollah operatives had gathered, according to the IDF.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati toured southern Lebanon amid the barrage, saying the clash between Israel and Hezbollah was “psychological warfare” on his country but that he was working to reach peace on the border.

The Lebanese military is active in the south of the country but has no control over the Iranian-backed Hezbollah.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Friday said his country was “not looking for war” with Hezbollah but that it was prepared for an escalated conflict.

Hezbollah has been launching strikes on northern border communities almost daily since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza.

The United States trying to persuade both sides to avoid an all-out war, the likelihood of which has been higher in recent weeks, according to U.S. intelligence officials.

The task of deescalation would be easier without failing negotiations between Israel and Hamas to reach a cease-fire in the nearly nine-month-long Gaza war.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations on X Friday threatened an “obliterating war will ensue” if Israel were to wage a full-on war against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“All options, including the full involvement of all resistance fronts, are on the table,” the post read.