Hezbollah chief warns response to Aruri killing 'inevitable'

Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse
Jan 5, 2024
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has said a response to the killing blamed on Israel of Hamas number two Saleh al-Aruri in the group's Beirut southern suburb stronghold is "inevitable"
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has said a response to the killing blamed on Israel of Hamas number two Saleh al-Aruri in the group's Beirut southern suburb stronghold is "inevitable" — -

The head of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group warned Israel Friday that it will respond swiftly "on the battlefield" to the killing of Hamas's deputy leader in its south Beirut stronghold.

"The response is inevitably coming. We cannot remain silent on a violation of this magnitude because it means the whole of Lebanon would be exposed," Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech.

"The decision is now in the hands of the battlefield," he said in his second speech since the killing of Saleh al-Aruri on Tuesday.

"Fighters from all areas of the border... will be the ones responding to the dangerous violation in the (southern) suburbs (of Beirut)," he added.

Aruri, who was killed in a missile strike widely attributed to Israel, is the most high-profile Hamas figure to be killed during the war.

Israel has not claimed responsibility for the strike but a US defence official told AFP on Wednesday that Israel carried it out. It was the first on the Lebanese capital since hostilities began.

The funeral was attended by more than a thousand mourners

In a speech on Wednesday, Nasrallah had already warned Israel against waging war on Lebanon, threatening that the group's response would be "without limits".

Hezbollah and its arch foe Israel have exchanged near-daily cross-border fire since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on October 7, but the Aruri killing has led to fears of an escalation.

Since hostilities began, the group has carried out around 670 operations, targeting 48 Israeli border positions and 11 rear sites, Nasrallah said.

- 'Balance of deterrence' -

The Gaza war has opened "a historic opportunity to completely liberate every inch of our Lebanese land", Nasrallah said, referring to 13 areas of dispute along the border with Israel.

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel "prefers a diplomatic path over a military one" to restore calm to areas near the Lebanese border from which thousands of Israels have been evacuated.

A soldier manning a howitzer shelling Lebanon from northern Israel wears a patch on the back of his flak jacket showing Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in his sights

"We prefer the path of a diplomatic solution done with agreement but we are close to the point of the hour glass turning over," Gallant said.

The escalating war of words has prompted a succession of Western diplomats to converge on Beirut to urge restraint.

In his speech, Nasrallah also accused Israel of underreporting its military losses, claiming Hezbollah has released footage showing "tanks exploding... sometimes with soldiers sitting on top of them".

Nearly three months of cross-border fire have killed 175 people in Lebanon, including 129 Hezbollah fighters, but also more than 20 civilians including three journalists, according to an AFP tally.

In northern Israel, nine soldiers and at least four civilians have been killed, according to Israeli authorities.