Israel raises state of alert after Hezbollah accused it of assassinating Laqis

The Israeli Army raised on Thursday the state of alert along the Lebanese southern borders, in case of any military developments after Hezbollah has accused Israel of assassinating one of the party’s leaders Hassan Laqis.  

Foot and motorized patrols were conducted along the borders in order to monitor the situation in the Lebanese territories; while a reconnaissance unmanned drone flew over the Shabaa farms, al-Abbasiyah and al-Ghajar.  

In turn, the United Nations Interim Forces In Lebanon (UNIFIL) intensified its patrols along the blue line in order to closely follow up on the developments on the ground on both sides.  

On Wednesday 4th of December 2013, Hezbollah said that one of its leaders, Hajj Hassan Hawlo Al-Laqis, was assassinated overnight outside his residence in South Beirut’s Al-Hadath region, noting that Al-Laqis had served the Resistance throughout this life.              

In a statement issued by the party’s press office, Hezbollah accused Israel of carrying out the assassination, adding that Al-Laqis had previously survived various assassination attempts.