Netanyahu, Gantz meet defense officials
Netanyahu, Gantz meet defense officialsAriel Hermoni, Defense Ministry

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz responded Monday evening to the incident on the Lebanese border in which three terrorists from Hezbollah attempted to infiltrate into Israeli territory.

"Nasrallah is embroiling the state of Lebanon because of Iran. Today a Hezbollah cell infiltrated Israeli territory. With its good operational readiness, the IDF thwarted this attempt," the prime minister said.

"We view the attempt to infiltrate our territory with great severity. Hezbollah and the State of Lebanon are responsible for this incident and for any attack that originating from Lebanese territory against Israel. Hezbollah is playing with fire. Any attack against us will be answered with great force," Netanyahu warned.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz said that "the "IDF sodliers and commanders acted with great professionalism and precision in preventing a serious incident that could have claimed lives."

"Israel is more determined than ever to prevent any harm to its sovereignty or its soldiers, and certainly to its citizens. Lebanon and Syria are sovereign states and will bear the painful responsibility for any terrorist act that originates from their territory.

"Any action against the State of Israel will lead to a powerful, sharp and painful response. I want to say clearly - the IDF is ready to respond, the IDF is ready for any response. The State of Israel, the defense establishment and the IDF will continue to act wherever required, whether near or far," Gantz said.

Earlier, a security source dismissed the Hezbollah terrorist organization's denial of involvement in the security incident.

"The whole incident was documented. The Hezbollah cell was armed," the source said.

Hezbollah had claimed that the Israeli government made up the confrontation which occurred when three of its members attempted to infiltrate into Israeli territory from Lebanon Monday.