Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said on Wednesday that Israel's killing of the deputy chief of allied Palestinian faction Hamas in Beirut was "a major, dangerous crime about which we cannot be silent."
Read more:
Nasrallah spoke in a televised speech planned earlier to mark four years since the killing of Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Gurad Corps, Quds' force, in an American strike.
The Hezbollah ldeader cross-border shelling of Israel starting on Oct. 8 had prevented a broader bombing campaign by Israel, warning Israel that there would be "no ceilings" and "no rules" to his group's fighting if Israel chose to launch a war on Lebanon. "Whoever thinks of war with us - in one word, he will regret it."
He said his forces were undeterred when they joined Hamas in attacking Israel on October 7 but were today more emboldened and ready for action. "Palestine from the River to the Sea belongs only the the Palestinian people," he said. "What has happened in Gaza was proof that international institutions, the international community and international law cannot defend anyone. Gaza's experience shows that if you are strong, your impost your respect," he said adding that by opening the front against Israel from Lebanon, the Israelis lost their element of surprise, to attack.
2 View gallery
Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi with troops on Israel-Lebanon border on Wednesday
(Photo: IDF)
Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi visited troops on the northern border hours before Nasrallah's speech. "The war began at a low point but creates amid the difficulties, opportunities to substantially change the situation in the north and in the south and in terms of regional stability," he said.
1.
2.
3.