JERUSALEM — Israel’s defense minister said on Thursday that his country had received messages through United Nations channels that Hezbollah did not plan any further action after its missile strike the previous day that killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded seven.
The attack, in response to a Jan. 18 drone strike by Israel on a convoy in Syrian territory that killed six Hezbollah fighters and an Iranian general, capped the most severe flare-up between the two enemies since their bloody 33-day battle in 2006. Analysts said that neither side was interested in another full-contact confrontation, but that after years of uneasy calm, the periodic exchanges could easily escalate.
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“The threats to Israel on its northern border must stop,” Ms. Mogherini said in a statement distributed on Thursday, calling for “an immediate cessation of hostilities.”
The statement emphasized Europe’s “full support” for the United Nations mission and the Lebanese government, army and people “in much-needed efforts to maintain peace and stability in Lebanon in these dramatic times for the country.”
