Itongadol.- Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu failed to confirm or deny reports that Israel struck targets on the Syria-Lebanon border late Monday night, cryptically stating that Israel does everything in its power to defend its citizens.
While some Lebanese reports suggested the attack was carried out against a Hezbollah missile base, others stated that the target of the bombing sorties was a key stop on the route through which arms are smuggled between Lebanon and Syria.
Asked during a joint press conference with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel whether IAF jets were behind the strike, Netanyahu stated, "Our policy is clear – we will not speak about reports of what we did or didn\’t do – but we do all that is necessary in order to defend our citizens."
Hezbollah denied the airstrike on their television network al-Manar. They said there had been "no raid on Lebanese territory," reporting only the "strong presence of enemy planes over the area north of Bekaa" in eastern Lebanon.
Thus far, the Israeli army has refused to comment on the reports.
Netanyahu has said repeatedly that Israel would not allow the Syrian regime to transfer chemical weapons or "game-changing" weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israel has reportedly struck weapons convoys traveling from Syria into Lebanon on at least three occasions in the past year.