BEIRUT (dpa-AFX) – Hezbollah boss Naim Kassim emphasized his organization’s willingness to fight in his first speech since the recent escalation between Israel and the Shiite militia. “We will not surrender to the enemy,” he said in the televised speech.
“Our decision is confrontation and resistance to the utmost limits,” Kassim said. In his view, Israel is an “existential threat” to Hezbollah, Lebanon and the entire region. “What Israel did was not a response to rocket fire, but rather a premeditated act of aggression,” he continued. It is Hezbollah’s duty to do everything in its power to stop the dangerous course of continued Israeli aggression.
Israel: Hezbollah has chosen war with Israel
An Israeli army spokesman said in the evening that Hezbollah had decided on war with Israel. According to him, Iran has put massive pressure on the militia to intervene in the conflict. Hezbollah puts Iranian interests above the well-being of the Lebanese civilian population, the spokesman said.
Israel’s army says it is trying to spare bystanders in its attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Israeli military is fighting against the Shiite organization to protect Israeli civilians from their attacks, the army spokesman said.
Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel on Monday night in response to the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Since then, the Israeli military has again attacked Lebanon on a larger scale. Hezbollah also continues to fire rockets at Israeli targets.
Kassim also called on opponents of the movement in Lebanon not to stab the organization in the back. He accused the government of having betrayed Hezbollah./arj/DP/jha
