Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Thursday that Israel should expect an “inevitable response” from the Islamist movement after the assassination of its military leader, Fouad Chokr, near Beirut on Tuesday.
“The enemy must absolutely expect an inevitable response from us” to the assassination of Fouad Shokr, the leader of the pro-Iranian movement declared in a televised speech broadcast live during the military leader’s funeral.
“Israel is not aware of the red lines it has crossed,” he added, referring to the assassination and the death, attributed to Israel, of the political leader of the Palestinian Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran.
“What happened in the southern suburbs is an aggression and not just an assassination,” Hassan Nasrallah added.
The strike on a building in a densely populated neighborhood killed seven people, including five civilians, three women and two children, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
“On all support fronts, we have reached a new stage, different from the previous stages, and which depends on the behavior of the enemy,” the Hezbollah leader continued, mentioning “an open battle on all fronts.”
Hezbollah and its regional allies have opened fronts against Israel, which they call a “support front” for its ally Hamas, in the wake of the Palestinian Islamist movement’s unprecedented attack on Israeli soil on October 7, which triggered war in the Gaza Strip.
Hassan Nasrallah said his party had muted its attacks since Tuesday evening, adding that they would resume Friday morning “as was the case before the martyrdom of Fouad Chokr” and “regardless of the response to the assassination.”
Hezbollah has in the past threatened to target deep into Israeli territory if it strikes Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel was at a “very high level” of preparations for any scenario, “both defensive and offensive.”
“We will make any act of aggression against us pay a very high price,” Netanyahu said, according to a statement from his office.
The Israeli army holds Fouad Shokr responsible for the deaths of 12 children and teenagers in a rocket attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday. Hezbollah has denied any involvement.