Hezbollah chief threatens Israel with retaliation

Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah, on Saturday said Israel "must pay a price" for crash-landing two drones in an apparent attack targeting Hezbollah offices in southern Beirut.

"The need for a response is decided," said Nasrallah. "All the threats and intimidations will not prevent the retaliation of the resistance."

The 59-year-old Shiite leader said Hezbollah does not have "factories to produce precision-guided missiles in Lebanon," refuting allegations by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the group was racing to build a production facility.

However, Nasrallah said Hezbollah has enough precision-guided missiles inside Lebanon to deal with any Israeli confrontation.

Read more: Israel on edge after Syria strikes, Lebanon 'drone attack'

Israel on alert

The UN Security Council on Thursday warned Israel and Lebanon about violating the terms of UN resolutions, saying it "could lead to a new conflict that none of the parties or the region can afford."

"Exercise maximum calm and restraint and refrain from any action or rhetoric that could jeopardize the cessation of hostilities or destabilize the region," the Security Council said.

Read more: Golan Heights: Why it matters to US, Israel and Syria

Given escalating tensions with Israel's neighbor, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said it had ordered the deployment of additional forces to its northern command.

"Ground forces, air, navy and intelligence forces improved their preparedness for various scenarios in the northern command area," it said in a statement.

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ls/sms (AP, Reuters)