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Netanyahu Says Israel Will Exact Heavy Price for Revenge Attacks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, US, July 24, 2024. REUTERS/Craig Hudson/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, US, July 24, 2024. REUTERS/Craig Hudson/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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Netanyahu Says Israel Will Exact Heavy Price for Revenge Attacks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, US, July 24, 2024. REUTERS/Craig Hudson/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, US, July 24, 2024. REUTERS/Craig Hudson/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Israel will respond forcefully to any attack on it, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, after the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and of a senior Hezbollah leader in Beirut.

Netanyahu said Israel had delivered crushing blows to Iran's proxies over the past few days, including Hamas and Hezbollah. But he did not mention Haniyeh's killing, which has drawn threats of revenge on Israel and fuelled further concern that the conflict in Gaza was turning into a

"Citizens of Israel, challenging days lie ahead. Since the strike in Beirut there are threats sounding from all directions. We are prepared for any scenario and we will stand united and determined against any threat. Israel will exact a heavy price for any aggression against us from any arena," Netanyahu said in a televised statement, Reuters reported.

Israel's military announced late on Tuesday it had killed Fuad Shukr, whom it named as Hezbollah's most senior commander and whom it blamed for an attack at the weekend that left a dozen youngsters dead in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Shukr was an adviser to Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, according to Hezbollah sources and to Israeli officials.

Iran-backed Hezbollah confirmed his death on Wednesday, hours after the Palestinian armed group Hamas announced its leader, Haniyeh, had been assassinated in Teheran.

Although the Tehran attack was widely assumed to have been carried out by Israel, Netanyahu's government made no claim of responsibility and said it would make no comment on Haniyeh's killing.

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PMF Demands Immediate Withdrawal of US Forces from Iraq

Supporters and members of Iraq's PMF wave flags as they march in Baghdad to condemn a US air strike in the south of the capital that killed four members of the Hashed, on July 31, 2024. (AFP)
Supporters and members of Iraq's PMF wave flags as they march in Baghdad to condemn a US air strike in the south of the capital that killed four members of the Hashed, on July 31, 2024. (AFP)
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PMF Demands Immediate Withdrawal of US Forces from Iraq

Supporters and members of Iraq's PMF wave flags as they march in Baghdad to condemn a US air strike in the south of the capital that killed four members of the Hashed, on July 31, 2024. (AFP)
Supporters and members of Iraq's PMF wave flags as they march in Baghdad to condemn a US air strike in the south of the capital that killed four members of the Hashed, on July 31, 2024. (AFP)

The Iran-backed Popular Mobilizations Forces (PMF) demanded on Wednesday the "immediate" withdrawal of American forces from Iraq in wake of the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and the US strike on Iraqi armed factions south of Baghdad.

Iraqi police and medical sources said the strike inside a base south of Baghdad used by the PMF killed four members of the group that contains several Iran-aligned armed militias, and wounded four others.

US officials, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the United States carried out an airstrike in Musayib, located in Babil province, but did not provide more details on the location.

The officials added that the strike targeted militants that the US deemed were looking to launch drones and posed a threat to US and coalition forces. The officials did not comment on any casualties.

"This action underscores the United States' commitment to the safety and security of our personnel," one of the officials said.

Iraq condemned the strike saying the US-led military coalition committed a "heinous crime" by targeting security sites south of Baghdad and said the attacks were a serious violation of the coalition's mission and mandate, an Iraqi military spokesman said in a statement.

In a statement on Wednesday, the PMF said the US attack was a "hostile act" against the forces, "demanding that we do what is necessary in our national duty to defend Iraq’s dignity and sovereignty."

It also called for a decision to be taken on the immediate withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq.

Haniyeh’s assassination, it went on to say, shows that "enemies are plotting to ignite the region and expand the war" on Gaza.

It stressed that Haniyeh’s "blood won’t go to waste," adding that he had dedicated his life to the liberation of Palestine.

"The cowardly assassination will only make the honorable resistance fighters only more determined to continue their jihad," it added.

‘Gates of Hell’

Meanwhile, leader of the pro-Iran Nujaba movement Akram al-Kaabi said: "The Americans and Zionists have opened the gates of Hell after Haniyeh’s assassination, the reckless strike on the southern Beirut suburbs, and the deceitful American strike against fighters in Iraq."

"These assassinations will make the resistance more determined," he said in a post on the X platform.

The Nujaba and other pro-Iran factions had been launching attacks against American forces in Iraq in wake of the eruption of the war on Gaza. The Nujaba announced a truce in February, before recently saying that it was ending it.

Kaabi had described the truce at the time as "the calm before the storm."

Govt recommendations

Former Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi warned that attacks on the PMF "undermine relations between Washington and Baghdad."

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani chaired on Wednesday a meeting of military and security leaderships.

A government statement said he was briefed on the security developments and the possible fallout of the regional escalation.

Sudani made a number of recommendations to the forces, added the statement without elaborating.