The leader of Lebanese Hezbollah said on Wednesday that he “cannot remain silent” after the killing of the deputy leader of Hamas in Beirut and warned that his strong armed forces would fight to the end if Israel chooses to expand the war from Gaza to Lebanon.
Escalating Tensions Between Israel and Hezbollah
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah insisted that his Iranian-backed Shiite armed forces “cannot remain silent” after the killing of Al-Arawi, describing it as a “serious major crime,” despite not issuing concrete threats against Israel. Nasrallah affirmed that there would be no “limits” or “rules” for Hezbollah’s fighting if Israel launched a full war on Lebanon.
Consequences of the War on Lebanon and Gaza
Reports indicate that the war between Israel and Hamas is spreading significantly beyond the Gaza Strip, including the occupied West Bank, Hezbollah forces on the Lebanese-Israeli border, and even shipping routes in the Red Sea. Al-Arawi, 57, who lived in Beirut, was assassinated in a drone strike in the Lebanese capital on Tuesday.
Hezbollah’s Threat to Respond to Israel
Nasrallah announced that Hezbollah would not be “silent” after the killing of Al-Arawi and that there would be no “limits” or “rules” for its fighting if Israel launched a full war on Lebanon. Hezbollah, which is an ally of Hamas, has been involved in daily shelling exchanges with Israel across the southern Lebanese border since the war in Gaza began. More than 120 Hezbollah fighters and dozens of civilians have been killed on Lebanese territory, along with nine Israeli soldiers on Israeli soil.
Warnings of Escalation
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon warned that any escalation could have dire consequences for people on both sides of the border. Reports suggest that the killing of Al-Arawi removes a significant name from Israel’s list of its top militia enemies, but it may push Hamas leaders in exile to hide more deeply, hindering efforts to negotiate further ceasefires in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
Impact of the War on the Normalization Process
Nasrallah also stated that Hamas’s swift attack on October 7 dealt a severe and deliberate blow to the normalization process between Israel and U.S.-backed Arab governments that has been ongoing since 2020, even after the collapse of talks over a Palestinian state in the occupied territories. Nasrallah delivered his speech to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq.
Meanwhile, Israeli attacks on Gaza continue, with rockets and airstrikes killing many Palestinians and causing a humanitarian disaster. Israeli bombardment has destroyed a large part of the densely populated sector, displacing most of Gaza’s residents and threatening famine due to food shortages.
In its daily update, Israeli forces reported that intense battles with militants are still ongoing in the main southern city of Khan Younis in Gaza. Reports stated that Israeli forces bombed the Al-Nuseirat refugee camp in the northern part of the sector controlled by Hamas throughout the night and into the morning, destroying several multi-story buildings.
Israeli aircraft also dropped leaflets on the Al-Nuseirat camp asking residents to leave seven neighborhoods. Israeli forces claim they are trying to avoid harming civilians, but they blame Hamas for embedding fighters in residential areas, a claim the movement denies.
The military wing of Hamas stated that it killed 10 Israeli soldiers in battles in Al-Bureij and injured five tanks and armored personnel carriers. Israeli forces stated that the number of soldiers killed since their first incursion into Gaza on October 20 has reached 177 soldiers.
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