Prudent behavior by Israel Defense Forces troops on the Lebanese border seemingly thwarted a Hezbollah attack near Har Dov Monday afternoon. The question now is whether Hezbollah, which claimed responsibility for the bombing, will be satisfied with an explosion that caused no casualties, or whether it will seek further vengeance against Israel.

A Hezbollah response has been expected ever since Samir Kuntar – a Lebanese Druze terrorist affiliated with the organization – was assassinated near Damascus on December 20. Not only did Hezbollah publicly blame Israel (which hasn’t officially claimed responsibility for the airstrike that killed Kuntar), but its leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, has said at least three times that the organization will avenge his death. Nevertheless, Hezbollah opted to respond on Monday in a theater where no Israeli civilians live, and where any escalation could therefore be contained.

Over the past few days, the IDF has fired artillery shells into Lebanese territory north of Har Dov several times, either as a deterrent or to prevent the possibility of infiltrations into Israel. The bomb that went off Monday hit a well-armored force whose task was to search for explosives planted along the border.

Read the article in full at Haaretz.