Hezbollah warns Israel of retaliation after strike on Lebanon

Hassan Fadlallah, a parliamentarian and senior Hezbollah figure, warned Israel on Thursday that it would suffer retaliation for the two attack sets that had killed ten civilians the day before, half of which were children, in southern Lebanon.

“The enemy (Israel) will pay the price for these crimes,” Fadlallah told Reuters when asked about the powerful Iran-backed armed group’s reaction to the deadliest day for civilians in Lebanon since hostilities began along its southern border.

In support of its Palestinian ally Hamas, which launched a murderous attack on Israel on October 7 and was greeted with an Israeli land, air, and sea assault on Gaza, Hezbollah and the Israeli military have been exchanging gunfire for more than four months.

Israel is reportedly being discouraged from launching a wider offensive on Lebanon by Hezbollah’s rockets.

The Israeli strikes on Wednesday followed one soldier’s death from shelling onto a military base in northern Israel. Hezbollah did not take credit for that attack.

Fadlallah demanded that Israel terminate its bombardment on Gaza, stating that Hezbollah has a “legitimate right to defend its people and will not flinch in doing what is needed to protect it”.

In addition, acting prime minister of Lebanon Najib Mikati gave foreign minister Abdallah Bou Habib instructions to file a fresh complaint with the UN Security Council on the strikes that resulted in Wednesday’s casualties. Hassan Fadlallah, a parliamentarian and senior Hezbollah figure, warned Israel on Thursday that it will suffer retaliation for the two sets of raids on southern Lebanon the day before that claimed the lives of ten people, half of whom were children.

(With agency inputs)