Israeli army says 3 rockets hit northern Israel

He killed a policeman and kidnapped and killed a man, Danny Haran, and his four-year-old daughter, after they crossed into the northern coastal town of Nahariya by sea from Lebanon.

“He killed a civilian family, including a baby, many years ago and he’s still involved in terrorism”, Steinitz said, referring to Kuntar’s infamous 1979 attack that killed four Israelis. As the attack unfolded, the girl’s mother hid inside a crawl space inside their home and accidentally smothered their crying 2-year-old daughter, fearing Kantar would find them.

Maoz believes “Russia will allow Israel to pursue their own interests with regards to striking out against terrorist targets in Syria – even if those targets are affiliated with Russia’s Syrian allies”, adding that “the line will likely be drawn at any attempt by Israel to actively engage in aiding the overthrow of Bashar Assad’s regime, which Russian Federation is supporting”.

There was no confirmation from Israel that it was responsible for Kantar’s killing.

Kantar is the most high profile Hezbollah fighter to be killed since previous year.

Although refusing to confirm whether the attack was carried out by Israel, Mr Amidror said the incident was “good news for Israel”. Kuntar then smashed Einat’s skull with a rock, killing her on the spot. Kuntar was released from jail in 2008 and officially received by the Lebanese president, Prime Minister, and Speaker of Parliament and a Hezbollah public celebration was held in his honor where he was described as a “Pan-Arab hero”.

The Hezbollah group said Kantar, Druze, was martyred in an Israeli aerial raid in Damascus without giving further detail.

The Syrian army, backed by Russian air strikes, captured a rebel stronghold in the northern province of Aleppo yesterday, driving out the Islamists, a monitoring group said.

There were no immediate reports of causalities on either side.

Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV said two Israeli warplanes were behind the attack, and it aired footage of a building that appears to be completely destroyed.

Gil Rabinovich, the former head of the Israeli military intelligence’s counterterrorism unit, said it was impossible to predict how Hezbollah would respond, in part because Israel has not claimed responsibility for Kantar’s killing.

“Since Qantar’s return, he has also played an operational role, with the assistance of Iran and Syria, in building up Hezbollah’s terrorist infrastructure in the Golan Heights”, it said. “The Zionists themselves define the Israeli as a soldier who is on leave for 11 months every year”.

In January, an Israeli strike in Syria killed six members of Hezbollah, including a commander and the son of the group’s late military leader Imad Moughniyah in the province of Quneitra, near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. While Israeli officials declined to comment on the report, both Israeli politicians and the sole survivor of the attack are hailing his death as “historic justice”.