Israel will respond to any attack by the Shiite Hezbollah movement against its soldiers in Lebanon, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, stressing that Israeli troops do not intend to withdraw from southern Lebanon.

According to him, Friday morning he held a meeting with Israeli defense minister Israel Katz and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff Eyal Zamir to assess the current situation after the overnight strikes on Lebanon.

"My directive is clear: Israel will not tolerate attacks on our soldiers or our territory, and it will exact a very heavy price from Hezbollah for these attacks," Netanyahu wrote in a post on X/Twitter.

"The IDF will act to thwart any threat to our forces and our territory." He also stated that IDF troops would remain in the security zone in Lebanon "for as long as required to protect the [Israeli] settlements in the north."