'Any retaliation will be met with a heavy blow', Israel warns Iran

TEL AVIV: Israel's warning that if Iran retaliates to the attack on Tehran last week, it will be dealt a heavy blow. The warning is from Israeli army chief Lt. General Herzi Halevi. He was speaking to airmen at Ramon Air Force Base.

"If Iran launches ballistic missiles at Israel again, our military response will include weapons we did not use in last week's operations. We will determine the way to reach Iran once more. The weapons we held back before will be deployed then and the areas we previously spared will face significant impact. Some targets were omitted initially as they required further planning but this campaign is far from over," stated Halevi. "We remain fully engaged."

Israel responded last Saturday to an attack by Iran earlier this month. Israeli fighter jets targeted Iranian military bases and missile manufacturing facilities. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also accused Iran of building a group of nuclear bombs and destroying his country.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah has chosen Naeem Qasim as the head of the group. Hezbollah's deputy secretary general was chosen as its head after Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike. Naeem Qasim has been Deputy Secretary General of Hezbollah for 33 years. After Nasrallah's death, he also served as acting secretary general. Naeem Qasim is also one of the founding leaders of Hezbollah.

Hezbollah announced that Naeem Qasim was chosen to protect Hezbollah's policies and objectives. Hassan Nasrallah, who held the position of Secretary General of Hezbollah since 1992, was killed in an Israeli airstrike last month. Nasrallah's cousin, Hashim Saffieddin, was considered for the leadership position, but was killed in an Israeli airstrike. Qasim was appointed after that. Naeem Qasim was also the general coordinator of Hezbollah's parliamentary election campaigns since 1992.