Hezbollah entered the scene at dawn this Tuesday against northern Israel in revenge for having killed the Iranian supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, at the beginning of his hand-to-hand war campaign with the United States, this Sunday. They are the first since the ceasefire that ended in 2024 the two months of war they fought and during which Israel . Although none of the projectiles caused injuries or damage (one was intercepted and two others fell in open spaces), the Israeli aviation responded shortly after with bombings in different parts of Lebanon, including the capital, Beirut, and the chief of the General Staff, Eyal Zamir, has warned that “it will pay a high price.” It is still unknown if there are any victims, while various witnesses report people fleeing Shiite strongholds for fear of the foreseeable escalation.
When announcing the attack from Lebanon, the Israeli Armed Forces did not initially specify whether it was the work of Palestinian armed groups in Lebanon. An Israeli security commander did do so to the local media, warning that the retaliation would be harsh.
Shortly after, Hezbollah took credit for it in a statement, in which it reported “a barrage of advanced missiles and a barrage of drones” against an anti-missile defense system south of the city of Haifa, in northern Israel. It is, he added, his “retaliation” for the bombing that killed Khamenei, “in defense of Lebanon and its people and in response to.” “The Israeli enemy cannot continue its aggression, which has already lasted fifteen months, without a warning response to stop it and withdraw from the occupied Lebanese territories. This response is a legitimate act of self-defense,” he noted.
Israel’s Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir, has ordered “preparations for the continuation of offensive and defensive activity” and held Hezbollah “fully responsible for any escalation” for “initiating a campaign” against Israel. “The troops have prepared for such a scenario.” […] Any enemy that threatens our security will pay a high price; “We will not allow the people of Israel or our northern border to come to any harm.”
Unlike Israel’s past 12-day war against Iran, Hezbollah is now entering the battle, despite internal pressures and external threats: Israel warned the government in Beirut in recent weeks that, if it happened, it would bomb infrastructure, including the only functioning airport; and the president of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun, stressed on Sunday – at the beginning of the offensive against Iran – that the power to “go to war or peace corresponds exclusively to the Lebanese State.”
The Lebanese Prime Minister, Nawaf Salam, has spoken along the same lines after the launch of the rockets against Israel. He has described it as an “irresponsible act” that “endangers the security and integrity of Lebanon and gives Israel pretexts to continue its attacks against the country.” “We will not allow the country to be dragged into new adventures and we will take all necessary measures to arrest the perpetrators and protect the Lebanese people,” he wrote.
Naim Qassem, has called the war campaign against Iran by the US and Israel “criminal and tyrannical”, but was ambiguous about whether he would come to the defense of his main supplier of funds and weapons.
