The head of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group warned Israel on Friday, December 5, that it will respond swiftly "on the battlefield" to the killing of Hamas's deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri in one of its Beirut strongholds. The strike, attributed to Israel, targeted al-Arouri's apartment in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital on January 2, killing the leader and six other Hamas officials.
"The response is inevitably coming. We cannot remain silent on a violation of this magnitude because it means the whole of Lebanon would be exposed," Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech.
"The decision is now in the hands of the battlefield," he said in his second speech since the killing of al-Arouri. "Fighters from all areas of the border (...) will be the ones responding to the dangerous violation in the suburbs," he added.
In a speech on Wednesday, Nasrallah warned Israel against waging war on Lebanon, threatening that the group's response would be "without limits." Hezbollah and its arch foe Israel have exchanged near-daily fire over their border since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on October 7, but the Arouri killing has led to fears of an escalation.
Tuesday's strike was the first on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital since October 7. Israel, which did not claim responsibility, was immediately accused by Hamas, Hezbollah and the Lebanese government. An American defense official also confirmed that it was an "Israeli strike." Clashes between Israel and Hezbollah are currently limited to border areas in southern Lebanon.