Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, has declared that the conflict with Israel has entered a “new phase.” This announcement was made during a speech to thousands of supporters gathered for the funeral of Fuad Shukr, a high-ranking commander of the group who was killed in an Israeli attack in Beirut.
Nasrallah stated on Thursday that Hezbollah is considering a “real, well-considered” response to the attack rather than a symbolic one, and he added that several countries have urged the Lebanese group not to retaliate. According to Nasrallah, Israel has “crossed red lines,” and a response is “inevitable.” He noted that the extent of regional escalation would depend on Israel’s reaction to the forthcoming retaliation.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that Israel is preparing for a retaliatory attack from Iran and its allies. “Israel is well-prepared for any situation – both defensively and offensively,” he said, according to his office. “We will impose a very high price for any aggressive action against us from any arena.”
The attack that resulted in Shukr’s death targeted the Haret Hreik neighborhood, a densely populated area in the southern suburbs of Beirut, where three women and two children also lost their lives, and several others were injured, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health. This attack was followed by another strike early Wednesday in Tehran, which killed Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh, further raising concerns about a joint response from Iran and its allies, as well as the possibility of a larger war in the region.
The Israeli military reported that the “precision strike” that hit Shukr was a response to an attack that killed 12 children and young people playing football in Majdal Shams, located in the occupied Golan Heights of Syria. The Israeli military stated that Shukr was responsible for several attacks against Israeli targets and was behind the incident in Majdal Shams. However, Hezbollah has denied any responsibility for the event. In his speech on Thursday, Nasrallah reiterated this denial, stating that Hezbollah would have admitted to a “mistake” if a rocket had been unintentionally fired.
Hezbollah began attacking military bases in northern Israel the day after the outbreak of war in Gaza on October 7, as part of what they describe as a “support front” to back Palestinian groups. Since then, Hezbollah and Israel have engaged in nearly daily clashes, but the violence, which has displaced tens of thousands of people in both countries, has mostly been confined to border areas.
The deadly Israeli attack in Beirut on Saturday was the second assault on the Lebanese capital and its suburbs this year. In January, an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh targeted Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri.