Following the killing of Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut, the leader of Lebanon's pro-Iran Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, said on Friday, January 5, that his fighters “will respond to this dangerous violation.”
The leader of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hassan Nasrallah, warned this Friday, January 5, that a reaction to the elimination of the second largest Palestinian group, Hamas, attributed to Israel, was “inevitable.”
The attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, was “serious and will not go unanswered,” he warned in a televised address, assuring that his movement would “respond” “on the battlefield.”
“The reaction is inevitable,” said the leader of Hezbollah, whose party has launched daily attacks on Israel from southern Lebanon since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7.
Saleh al-Arouri and six other Hamas officials and leaders were killed Tuesday evening in that attack against an office of the Palestinian Islamist Movement, an ally of Hezbollah.
“We cannot remain silent”
In a first speech the day after the attack, Hassan Nasrallah assured that the attack “will not go unpunished,” without giving further details.
Israel, which did not claim it, was immediately targeted by Hamas, Hezbollah and the Lebanese government. An American defense official also stated that it was actually an “Israeli attack.”
“We cannot remain silent about a breach of this magnitude because it would mean that the entire Lebanon would be exposed in the future,” stressed Hassan Nasrallah.
“Our fighters in the border areas… will respond to this dangerous violation.” According to Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah fighters have carried out 670 operations against Israel since October 7, attacking “all border positions.”
175 dead
The exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah, which is said to be acting in solidarity with Hamas, are the most intense since the war between them in 2006, although they are currently limited to border areas.
According to an AFP count, the violence in Lebanon claimed 175 lives, including 129 Hezbollah fighters but also more than 20 civilians. According to authorities, nine soldiers and five civilians were killed in northern Israel.
Hassan Nasrallah reiterated that his party's attacks had put Lebanon “in a position of strength” in the event of a settlement of the border dispute with Israel “after the end of the aggression against Gaza.”
“We now have a historic opportunity to completely liberate every square inch of our Lebanese land,” he added, referring to areas still occupied by Israel after its withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Friday that Israel “prefers the diplomatic route over the military route” to restore calm on the northern border. “We prefer the path of a diplomatic solution through an agreement, but we are close to the turning point of the hourglass,” Yoav Gallant said in a video.
According to Western diplomatic sources, Western envoys working to prevent a conflagration on the border between the two countries have suggested a settlement of the border dispute between Lebanon and Israel to bring about a cessation of hostilities.