Amid rising tensions along Israel's northern frontier, Defense Minister Benny Gantz visited GOC Northern Command on Sunday, saying, "Israel has no interests in Syria or Lebanon, aside from security interests, and we will continue to protect them."
Israel has beefed up its troop presence along the borders with Lebanon and Syria even more since airstrikes on Syrian army positions on Friday. Israel says those strikes were in response to unspecified munitions fired on the Golan Heights. The exchanges came after an air raid on Damascus on Monday – believed to have been carried out by Israel – that killed five foreign fighters, including a member of the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran.
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"We are not seeking an unnecessary escalation, but if we are tested – we have high operative capacity, which I hope we will not need to put to use," Gantz added.
Shortly after Gantz visited troops in the north, the IDF said in a statement that one of its drones crashed in southern Lebanon "during operational activities" along the border.
"There is no concern that any information was leaked," an IDF spokeswoman said.
Israel's Channel 12 reported that the drone crashed after it experienced a technical failure. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported that Israeli warplanes and drones flew over southern Lebanon throughout Sunday.
Earlier in the day Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a stern warning to the Lebanon-based terrorist organization, saying Israel will not tolerate any aggression from the north.
Israel was "acting according to our consistent policy of not allowing Iran to entrench itself militarily on our northern border," Netanayahu said, adding that Lebanon and Syria "bear responsibility for any attack against Israel emanating from their territories."
Deputy Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem, meanwhile, dismissed the prospect of an escalation of violence with Israel despite the heightened tensions.
"The atmosphere does not indicate a war ... It's unlikely, the atmosphere of war in the next few months," he said in an interview with pro-Hezbollah television station Al Mayadeen TV.
"There is no change of rules of engagement and the deterrent equation with Israel exists and we are not planning to change it. Should Israel decide to go to war with us, then we will confront them, with the 2006 [Second Lebanon] War as our model of resistance," Qassem continued.
"We've grown used to Israeli threats, they do not say anything new. This is just saber-rattling bluster," he added.
Qassem also confirmed that his Shiite terrorist group received a message through the United Nations representative in Lebanon after last week's airstrike near the Syrian capital in which the Hezbollah operative was killed.
"We did not give an answer and we will not reveal the content of the message," he said, without directly stating the message was from Israel.
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