Hezbollah vows retaliation for killing of commander

The head of the Iranian-backed Lebanese organization Hezbollah has stated that a reaction to the Israeli death of a top commander in Beirut is imminent.
In a televised address marking one week since Fuad Shukr’s death, Hassan Nasrallah stated that the retribution will be “strong” and “effective” and that the assassination must not be viewed as a routine strike.
He noted that the outfit might operate alone or in conjunction with other Iranian-backed forces in the region.

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Countries throughout the world have advised their people to evacuate Lebanon in recent days, fearing that a possible strike by the highly armed Hezbollah on Israel may spark a larger conflict between the two sides.Iran has also pledged to react over the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week. Both Hamas and Iran accuse Israel, which has not responded.

On Tuesday afternoon, just minutes before Nasrallah’s address, low-flying Israeli airplanes breached the sound barrier above Beirut.
Nasrallah, who spoke for about an hour and a half, said that the loud booms were meant to provoke people who had gathered to hear him.
Earlier on Tuesday, Israel announced that it had carried out an air assault against a “military structure” utilized by Hezbollah, the militia and political movement, in southern Lebanon.

The Lebanese health ministry said that four persons were killed in a hit on a house in the town of Maifadoun, around 19 miles (30 kilometers) from the Israeli border.
Security sources informed AFP that the four individuals were Hezbollah fighters. In an apparent reaction, the organization carried out drone strikes on villages in northern Israel, hurting two people.
Several nations, notably the United States, have encouraged their nationals to evacuate Lebanon as quickly as possible. On Tuesday, the country’s foreign minister stated that he was trying to guarantee that Hezbollah’s response to Shukr’s killing did not cause a significant escalation.

The Israeli strike on Maifadoun was carried out by fighter planes and guided by intelligence services, according to a statement released on social media. Officers from Shin Bet, the internal security agency, and Aman, the military intelligence agency, assisted the military.
Hezbollah responded by firing what it said as a “swarm” of drones against Israel, wounding two persons in the northern town of Mazra’a. However, a source in the organization informed Reuters that the attack was not in retribution to Shukr’s death.
US President Joe Biden met with his senior national security team on Monday, as fears of a retaliation assault on Israel mounted.

Mr Biden said he had been informed on plans to help Israel if it was attacked, while Secretary of State Antony Blinken said authorities were working “around the clock” to avert an escalation.
Volker Turk, the UN’s human rights head, urged “all parties, along with those states with influence, to act urgently to de-escalate what has become a very precarious situation”.
Several US military soldiers were injured in an attack on an Iraqi facility. The rocket firing on the Ain al-Assed camp is the latest in a string of strikes against the facility, which accommodates American soldiers battling the Islamic State group.