Beirut, 7 August 2024 (TDI): Hezbollah’s chief Hassan Nasrallah has said that his group and Iran were obliged to respond to Israel whatever the consequences after the assassinations last week of Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
The twin killings have sent Middle East tensions skyrocketing, amid growing fears of a regional conflict and all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah, which have been trading daily cross-border fire since Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel.
Iran is obliged to respond, and the enemy is waiting in a great state of fear, Nasrallah said in an address broadcasted on television, adding his group was also “obliged to respond.”
He added that Hezbollah will retaliate alone or in the context of a unified response from all the axis of Tehran-backed groups in the region, “whatever the consequences.”
An Israeli air attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs killed Hezbollah’s top military commander Shukr last Tuesday.
Early Wednesday, Hamas’s political chief Haniyeh was assassinated in an attack in Tehran blamed on Israel, which has not commented directly on the murder.
“Our response is coming,” Hizbollah’s chief said in an address to mark a week since Shukr’s murder, adding it would be “strong and effective.”
He said that Israel is waiting for a week is part of the battle, part of the punishment, and part of the response.
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It is Israel who chose escalation and who attacked Iran, he added.
Blinken Warns of Retaliation
On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that Iran and Hezbollah may attack Israel.
He told G7 counterparts in a conference call that Iran and Hezbollah could launch an attack against Israel. US believed Iran and Hezbollah will both retaliate.
Washington does not know the exact timing of the attacks or what form they would take, he added.
He said that the US hopes to halt the escalation by persuading Iran and Hezbollah to limit their strikes and restrain any Israeli response. He urged the other foreign ministers to join that push by applying diplomatic pressure on the trio.
