AP, AFP and Reuters

The newspaper La Jornada
Friday, August 2, 2024, p. 28

Beirut. The leader of the Lebanese Shiite militia party Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, warned yesterday that his group entered a new phase in its confrontation with Israel, following the assassination of its military commander Fuad Shukrun, while the Israeli army claimed responsibility for the military operation that eliminated him.

The enemy, and those behind the enemy, must abide by the fact that a response from us is inevitable.said the Hezbollah chief during his speech at Fuad Shukrun’s funeral.

Nasrallah said the offensive in the Beirut suburb of Lebanon, an overcrowded residential area that is a Hezbollah stronghold, It is an assault and not just a murder.

He also said that unidentified countries had asked his group to retaliate in a manner acceptableor not to take action, but stated that it would be impossible that the group did not respond.

There is no argument on this point. The only thing that stands between us and you are the days, the nights and the battlefield.Nasrallah added in his threat to Israel.

He also said the group had reduced its operations over the past two days out of respect for the victims of the attack, but that would return to normal operation from today.

The Lebanese movement opened a front against Israel, which it describes as support front its ally Hamas, following the Palestinian group’s attack in southern Israel on October 7, which sparked the war in Gaza.

At least three people were killed and several others wounded in an Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of the southern Lebanese town of Chamaa on Thursday, a source told Sputnik, adding that the victims of the attack were in a residential building. The Lebanese television channel Al Manar even reported that relatives of Syrian refugees were among the dead.

The situation on the border between Lebanon and Israel has worsened since the escalation of hostilities between the Israelis and the Palestinian Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip last October.