JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel is bracing for threatened retaliation by Hezbollah over charges that it assassinated one of the Lebanese militia's top commanders, with fears running high of a high-profile attack abroad.
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah declared "open war" on Israel in a fiery speech at Thursday's funeral in Beirut of Imad Mughnieh, a shadowy figure on America's Most Wanted list who was killed in a Damascus car bombing.
Israel has denied any involvement in the assassination, but Nasrallah said that by killing Mughnieh, it had taken its battle with Hezbollah beyond Lebanon's borders and should therefore expect attacks anywhere.
"The big... question arising from the killing in Damascus is not whether Hezbollah will respond, but how and when," Israeli columnist Yossi Melman wrote in the Haaretz newspaper.
Mughnieh, who was killed on Tuesday, was wanted for his suspected involvement in a string of anti-Jewish attacks including the 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, which killed 29 people, and the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community centre there that killed 85.
Israel has since stepped up security at home and abroad, fearing reprisals from Hezbollah, the Shiite Muslim group it battled in a devastating war across the border in Lebanon in 2006.
"Israel is a strong state, the Jewish people are strong and our answer to terror is clear," Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said in Washington. "Statements by this or that terrorist won't change this and we are not panicking."
Livni's office quoted her as saying "Israel has been under threat from its creation. We know how to deal with these threats and we will know how to do so now."
US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack described the threat as alarming, saying: "Hezbollah has a long record of carrying out violent acts, acts of terrorism around the globe."
The Haaretz newspaper quoted security sources as saying they expected Hezbollah to do something in the "immediate future" followed by a "showcase attack" in the medium term that would require greater planning and effort.
It said there could be a suicide bombing by Palestinians through groups funded by Hezbollah or attempts to kidnap Israelis abroad.
In the long run, it said the concern was that Hezbollah would target "high-value targets, such as embassies, a delegation travelling abroad or an aircraft."
On Thursday, Israeli army chief Gaby Ashkenazi ordered land, air and naval forces on alert, particularly on the northern border, to prepare for any military assault by Hezbollah fighters.
In southern Lebanon along the border with Israel, the UN peacekeeping force said on Friday it was not implementing any special measures.
"We are already adequately postured to implement our mandate under (UN Resolution) 1701 and our operations, in close coordination and coordination with the LAF (Lebanese Armed Forces) continue at the same pace in order to maintain the cessation of hostilities," spokeswoman Yasmina Bouziane told AFP.
Israel's counter-terrorist agency has urged citizens abroad to maintain a high level of alert and awareness and to avoid places known to be popular with Israelis.
It warned them to "absolutely avoid visiting or staying in Arab/Islamic countries for which travel advisories have been issued, to reject any enticing or unexpected proposals and refuse to accept any unexpected gifts or offers from suspect or unknown sources."
Israel has already tightened security at its embassies, consulates and foreign offices of the Jewish Agency, which deals with immigration.
Stepped-up security was also recommended for national airline El Al, for shipping and for synagogues and Jewish institutions around the world.
"The more reasonable and likeliest possibility is that Hezbollah, with Iranian approval, will try to make a revenge attack against Israel overseas, in particular against an embassy," Melman wrote in Haaretz.
"In this case it seems they will look for areas that are Israel's 'soft underbelly' such as the Israeli embassy in Jordan, Egypt or certain African capitals -- where it will be easier for them to act surreptitiously."
The Jerusalem Post quoted defence officials as saying Hezbollah has advanced infrastructure overseas, mainly in South America and Africa.
Hezbollah -- Arabic for Party of God -- emerged as a vastly stronger force in Lebanon after the 2006 war, which many in Israel regard as a failure for arguably the most powerful military in the Middle East.
The Shiite militia also claimed victory when Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000 after more than two decades of occupation.
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