JERUSALEM, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Thursday that his country will take reprisal against those responsible for a roadside bombing attack that severely wounded an Israeli citizen earlier this week.
Gallant made the remarks during an inspection tour along the Israel-Lebanon border, one day after the Israeli military released a statement claiming a suspect in the bombing attack smuggled into Israel from Lebanon through the border.
"We will find the right timing and appropriate way to hit back," Gallant told reporters after meeting officers of a division stationed along the border.
However, he noted that Israel still needs time to investigate the roadside bombing as many questions remain unsolved.
On Wednesday, the Israeli military said in a statement that a roadside bomb exploded and injured an Arab citizen of Israel on Monday.
The Israeli forces conducted a large-scale manhunt after the attack, intercepted and killed the suspect hours later, the statement said, adding that the military was looking into "the possibility of the involvement of the Hezbollah."
However, according to the Lebanese media, the spokesperson for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, Andrea Tenenti, said on Thursday that no crossing between Lebanon and Israel has been recorded recently.
Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shia militia that controls much of southern Lebanon, has been fighting against Israel for decades. ■
