Nasrallah warns Hezbollah will strike new areas in Israel if civilians are targeted
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the attacks would further be expanded with developments if the Israeli Defense Forces continue to attack Lebanese civilians. The claim is made amidst a time of upward spiraling violence and both sides recording increased casualty numbers. Nasrallah also warned that his organization will start targeting new areas against non-combatants in Lebanon.
Hezbollah is a Shiite militant group and political party based in Lebanon, which has been the sworn enemy of Israel for a long time. The military wing of Hezbollah is considered to be very strong, and its power in Lebanon is also considerable. This often complicates the Lebanese government’s ability to steer its course in foreign policy and security matters.
The speech was the usual fiery rhetoric of Nasrallah, in which apparent positions sans the no-nonsense plan came out. He said Israel was targeting civilians on purpose and that those actions would be met with no impunity. “If the Israeli enemy thinks that it’s killing of our women and children will break our will, then it is wrong,” he said. He underlined that Hezbollah’s response would be proportionate but terrible to have deterrence on any future bombardment of any part of Lebanese soil.
This is not the first time that Hezbollah has engaged in such rhetoric, targeting new areas within Israel. It alludes to some strategic expansion of Hezbollah’s operational theater, which could bring conflict to regions within Israel that step outside of the scope of Hezbollah’s attacks. This could refer to areas further away from the Lebanese border, indicating a broader range of missile capabilities and a much-expanded tactical planning horizon.
According to the Israeli government, for every military operation the country enters with the sole intention of eliminating the menace brought about by Hezbollah and other fundamentalist groups within Lebanon, Israeli officials maintain that it is simply protecting its citizens, especially in the northern areas near the Lebanese border, who have historically borne the brunt of the rocket attacks from Hezbollah.
Matters remain feverish on the ground, and both sides have been highly alert. As has long been warned, this creates the potential for this conflict to escalate if civilian casualties continue to rise further significantly. In the meantime, the international community has been watching because it is fully aware that a full-scale war between Hezbollah and Israel would impact far more than just the regional status quo; it would also have implications for global security and the stability of the world economy.
