Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel would respond with an "iron fist" if attacked, in a speech marking 10 years since a devastating conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Netanyahu described the war as "a clash between an extremist terror organisation with an Islamist ideology and a free democratic Israel".
"We are in a global battle. We are aware of the nature of the threats we face, and are preparing for any scenario," he said at a ceremony at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem.
"If the quiet is kept, those facing us will enjoy quiet. But if the need arises, we will respond to aggression -- and the response will be powerful. Whoever thinks they will find 'spider webs' here will get... an iron fist."
The Israeli premier was alluding to a 2000 speech by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, in which he called the Jewish state "feebler than a spider's web".
The 2006 conflict erupted when Israel retaliated for a cross-border raid in which Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers and killed three, and quickly spiralled into a fully fledged war.
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