Hezbollah and Israel continue to trade fire as fear of war rises

Hezbollah launched dozens of rockets at Israel Sunday in an apparent retaliation for hundreds of Israeli strikes on Beirut and elsewhere through the last week.

The Iran-backed militant group and largest political force in Lebanon has “returned stronger, and the front line will witness this,” said Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Kassem after Israel hit about 400 militant sites over the last 24 hours. An Israeli strike in Beirut on Friday also killed 45 people, including a top Hezbollah leader. The strikes came after Hezbollah pagers and walk-talkies blew up last week, killing at least 39 people and injuring some 3,500 more — the group has blamed Israel for the attack.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he would take whatever actions necessary to secure Israel’s northern border and return displaced Israelis to their homes.

“No country can accept the wanton rocketing of its cities,” Netanyahu said. “We can’t accept it either,” he said.

Israel is giving an “implied ultimatum,” The Wall Street Journal wrote: “Make a deal to pull back from Israel’s northern border, or go to war.”