Hezbollah’s leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, has issued a warning to attack Israel without restraint if it escalates its attacks against Lebanon, according to local TV station al-Manar.
In a televised speech, Nasrallah paid tribute to the memory of Qassem Soleimani, the top Iranian commander who was killed on January 3, 2020, by a U.S. drone strike, four years ago today.
Nasrallah said the assassination of Saleh al-Arouri, Hamas’ deputy chief, and other Hamas officials in Beirut a day earlier was “a dangerous crime.”
He said the current confrontation on Lebanon’s southern border has been limited, considering the priority of protecting Lebanon’s stability and security.
He said “if Israel expands its attacks, all our power will be used to attack Israel; we do not fear the war, and we are not hesitant about it; otherwise, we would have stopped fighting on the southern front.”
Tuesday’s strike was the first strike to hit Beirut following almost three months of near-daily fire between the Israeli military and Hezbollah that has been confined to the border region.
The Lebanon-Israel border has witnessed increased tension since October 8 after Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets toward Israel in support of the Hamas attacks on Israel the previous day, prompting Israel to respond by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon.
Over 120 Hezbollah fighters have been killed in the Israeli bombardment, along with nearly two dozen civilians.
