Hezbollah vows retaliation after senior commander killed in Israeli strike
Shafaq News – Beirut
Hezbollah reserved the right to retaliate and would determine the timing of any response, noted Naim Qassem, the group’s secretary-general, during the memorial ceremony of Haitham Ali Tabatabai, a senior Hezbollah commander.
His remark followed Israel’s strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs last week, where a residential apartment in Haret Hreik was targeted. The attack left five people dead, including Tabatabai, and injured 28 others.
In a televised speech on Friday, Qassem denounced the killing, arguing that Israel operates “with great comfort” on an open battlefield, supported by US intelligence and other international and Arab services.
“The goal of assassinating one of the most prominent figures in Hezbollah is to strike morale and create confusion,” Qassem added, arguing that the operation’s objective “has not and will not be achieved.”
The Lebanese presidency swiftly condemned the strike, describing it as part of Israel’s “continued disregard” for calls to halt its operations in Lebanon.
Despite the November 27, 2024 ceasefire, Israeli troops remain positioned south of the Litani River and continue air and ground operations across southern and eastern Lebanon. UNIFIL has documented more than 7,500 Israeli air violations and nearly 2,500 ground breaches north of the Blue Line up to November 20.
The United Nations confirmed that intensified strikes have damaged infrastructure and prevented displaced families from returning home. Updated figures from Lebanon’s Ministry of Health place the overall toll at 335 people killed and 973 wounded since the ceasefire took effect.
Read more: Israel warns Lebanon: Deterrence or descent into new war?
