Report: Israeli Warplanes Buzz Lebanese Skies
by Zach Pontz
Lebanese media has reported Israeli planes buzzed the skies over Beirut early Tuesday. The aircraft reportedly flew low over several other towns in the country as well.
The incident comes a day after IDF Chief of General Staff Benny Gantz told an audience that Israel has prepared itself for any conflict with its northern neighbor. “We will know how to act with Hezbollah and with Lebanon, including its infrastructure,” Gantz said while speaking at the Herzliya Conference, a local policy convention. “Lebanon cannot claim sovereignty but not bear responsibility. If a conflagration erupts, I would rather be an Israeli citizen than a Lebanese.”
Israeli warplanes were spotted over Lebanon in late January immediately prior to multiple aerial strikes on Syrian territory. Though the Jewish state never claimed responsibility for the strikes, which reportedly destroyed a weapons convoy and depot, it was widely assumed to have carried them out.