Hezbollah warns: Attacks on new Israeli territories result in civilian deaths

Hezbollah will attack new Israeli targets if Israel continues to attack civilians in Lebanon, the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, said on Wednesday, citing a sharp increase in the number of civilians killed in Lebanon in recent days.

Five civilians, all Syrians, including three children, were killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon on Tuesday, and at least three Lebanese civilians were killed the day before, state media and security sources said.

Israel claims it is attacking Hezbollah fighters and infrastructure in Lebanon, but not civilians. The non-combatants include journalists and medical personnel.

“Continuing to attack civilians will prompt the resistance movement to fire rockets at settlements that have not been targeted before,” Nasrallah said in a televised address on the occasion of the Shiite festival of Ashura.

The powerful Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah describes all Israeli population centers as settlements and does not recognize Israel.

Israel and Hezbollah have been trading fire ever since Hezbollah announced a “support front” with the Palestinians, shortly after its ally Hamas attacked Israel’s southern border communities on October 7 in response to Israeli occupation and aggression, triggering Israel’s largest military offensive in Gaza’s history.

Groups allied with Iran in the region, including armed Shiite groups in Syria and Iraq and the Houthis in Yemen, have also been firing at Israel since shortly after October 7.

In Lebanon, more than 100 civilians and over 300 Hezbollah fighters were killed in the fighting, according to a Reuters and caused a level of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the Israeli-Lebanese summer war of 2006.

Nasrallah promised that completely or partially destroyed houses would be rebuilt “more beautifully than before.”

Nasrallah also downplayed Israel’s ability to wage a full-scale war in Lebanon. He said Israel’s military capabilities had been weakened in Gaza and assured that all of the Israeli army’s tanks would be destroyed if it invaded Lebanon.

In recent weeks, international observers have increased fears that Israel could expand its military operations in Lebanon, risking a larger war.

Israel has stated that it is making the necessary preparations for a larger operation, but no decision has been made yet. Hezbollah has stated that it does not want war with Israel, but is ready for it.