Lebanon Hezbollah chief warns Israel after 'combat days' drill

Lebanon's Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned Israel on Tuesday against intimidation, alluding to Israeli combat drills that took place earlier this month, warning any attack would be reciprocated. "No one can guarantee it would not lead to war." Israel's air force also said on Monday it began a "surprise exercise" to improve combat readiness along the country's northern border to last until Wednesday.

Lebanon's Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned Israel on Tuesday against intimidation, alluding to Israeli combat drills that took place earlier this month, warning any attack would be reciprocated. "We are not looking for a confrontation but we don't leave the blood of our martyrs. If a confrontation happens we will respond to it ... if you attack our cities we will attack yours," Nasrallah said in a televised speech.

The Israeli Defense Forces held large scale exercises along the northern border with Lebanon on Feb. 9-10. They said at the time the exercise would examine lessons learnt from operational activities that took place along the Lebanese border over the summer and prepare troops for a variety of scenarios including readiness for "combat days".

"I want to also warn that these threats we are hearing in recent days - combat days and what not - I want to warn that this game of combat days is a dangerous one," Nasrallah said. "No one can guarantee it would not lead to war."

Israel's air force also said on Monday it began a "surprise exercise" to improve combat readiness along the country's northern border to last until Wednesday. (Reporting By Laila Bassam and Maha El Dahan; additional reporting by Rami Ayyub in Jerusalem Editing by Alistair Bell)