"Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Monday that Hezbollah's secretary-general Naim Qassem would 'pay a heavy price' after the Lebanese militant group fired on Israel. "Qassem, the chairman of the Hezbollah terrorist organisation, will discover that anyone who follows Khamenei's path ends up like Khamenei, at the bottom of hell, along with all the agents of the Axis of Evil," Katz said. "We will certainly demand that Hezbollah pay a heavy price for everything it has done, for the fire directed at Israel. We will not return to the pre-7 October rules of engagement. We will not allow mere exchanges of fire. We will strike Hezbollah in a severe and painful manner," he added. Tensions escalated after Hezbollah joined the regional conflict by firing rockets and drones at northern Israel on Monday morning, its first such action since 2024, after the assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader. In response, the Israel Defence Forces have carried out airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in Beirut and other areas of Lebanon, and accused the group of acting on behalf of Iran's regime. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem was appointed secretary-general in October 2024 after the killing of his predecessor and has led the group's resistance against Israel. This escalation followed a joint US-Israel military operation against Iran on Saturday, after which US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to 'destroy Iran’s missiles.' According to the Iranian Red Crescent, more than 555 people have died since the start of the war, and at least 131 cities have been impacted at the time of publication. In response, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced 'large-scale missile and drone attacks' targeting Israel. Reports also indicated that US military bases across the region, including in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Iraq and Kuwait, were struck amid the escalation."