The leader of the Lebanese Hezbollah said that the Hezbollah group will respond to any future Israeli air strikes against Lebanon, a day after his supporters launched a series of missiles at Israel.
Hassan Nasrallah said it would be a mistake to assume that Hezbollah would be constrained by internal divisions in Lebanon or the country’s severe economic crisis.
Nasrallah made the remarks a day after his group fired missiles at Israel, describing it as a response to Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon the day before.
Thursday’s Israeli air strikes, the first in years, came in response to mysterious missiles fired from Lebanon into Israel on Wednesday.
Friday’s bombing was the third day of strikes along the volatile border with Lebanon, a critical point in the Middle East where there are occasional tensions between Israel and Iran, which backs Hezbollah.
Israel and Hezbollah are sworn enemies and have fought several wars in the past, the last of which ended in August 2006. The 34-day conflict ended in a confrontation that left 1,200 people dead in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and mostly 160 dead. Soldiers.
“Do not misunderstand that Hezbollah is preoccupied with Lebanon’s problems,” Nasrallah said, adding that the bombing was a “clear message.”
He added that Hezbollah fired 20 rockets at open yards because Thursday’s Israeli strikes also hit open areas.
Lebanon is going through the worst economic and financial crisis in its modern history, which the World Bank describes as one of the worst in the world since the mid-19th century.
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