(Sep. 22, 2024 / JNS) Israel struck Hezbollah in its Beirut stronghold in ways the group never anticipated, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Sunday, speaking after an airstrike killed a senior terrorist leader in the city and days after thousands of operatives were wounded in attacks attributed to Jerusalem.

“If Hezbollah did not understand the message, I promise you: It will understand the message,” the prime minister said in remarks shared by his office.

Israel dealt Hezbollah “a series of blows it couldn’t have imagined,” he said.

“We are determined to return our residents to their homes in the north safely. No country can tolerate shooting at its residents, shooting at its cities, and we—the State of Israel—will not tolerate it either,” Netanyahu said.

Israel’s government remains determined to do “everything necessary to restore security” along the country’s northern border, he added.

Earlier on Sunday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant during a visit to an IAF base said that the Iranian-backed Lebanese terrorist army had begun “to sense some of the capabilities of the Israel Defense Forces.

“Our moves will continue until the goal is achieved. We will use everything necessary to fulfill the mission, until we reach a situation where we can return the residents of the north to their homes safely,” he said.