Hezbollah's Acting Leader Vows To Fight On After Nasrallah's Death | rssama.com

BEIRUT (AP) — Hezbollah’s acting leader vowed Monday to support battling Israel and said nan Lebanese militant group was prepared for a agelong conflict moreover aft overmuch of its apical bid was wiped out, including its leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

Israeli strikes person killed Nasrallah and six of his apical commanders and officials successful nan past 10 days, and person deed what nan subject says are thousands of militant targets crossed ample parts of Lebanon. Over 1,000 group person been killed successful nan state successful nan past 2 weeks, astir a 4th of them women and children, according to nan Health Ministry.

Early Monday, an airstrike deed a residential building successful cardinal Beirut, wiping retired 1 apartment, damaging others, and sidesplitting 3 Palestinian militants, arsenic Israel appeared to nonstop a clear connection that nary portion of Lebanon is retired of bounds.

Despite nan dense rustle Hezbollah has suffered successful caller weeks, acting leader Naim Kassem said successful a televised connection that if Israel decides to motorboat a crushed offensive, nan group’s fighters are ready. He said nan commanders killed person already been replaced.

“Israel was not capable to impact our (military) capabilities,” Kassem said successful a televised statement, nan first clip immoderate elder Hezbollah fig has been seen since Nasrallah was killed. “There are lawman commanders and location are replacements successful lawsuit a commandant is wounded successful immoderate post.”

He added that Hezbollah, which fought Israel to a stalemate successful their monthlong warfare successful 2006, anticipated “the conflict could beryllium long.”

A founding personnel of nan militant group who had been Nasrallah’s longtime deputy, Kassem will stay successful his acting position until nan group’s activity elects a replacement. The man wide expected to return complete nan apical station is Hashem Safieddine, a relative of Nasrallah who oversees Hezbollah’s governmental affairs.

Hezbollah has importantly accrued its rocket attacks successful nan past week to respective 100 daily, but astir person been intercepted aliases fallen successful unfastened areas. Several group person been wounded successful Israel. There person been nary fatalities since 2 soldiers were killed adjacent nan separator connected Sept. 19.

But Hezbollah’s capabilities stay unclear.

As precocious arsenic 2 weeks ago, a onslaught for illustration Monday’s successful cardinal Beirut — extracurricular of nan main areas wherever Hezbollah operates and adjacent to a engaged proscription hub usually crowded pinch buses, taxis and vans — would person been seen arsenic a awesome escalation and apt followed by a long-range Hezbollah onslaught into Israel.

But nan unspoken rules of nan long-running conflict nary longer look to beryllium successful effect.

It’s imaginable that Hezbollah is holding backmost to prevention resources for a bigger battle, including a threatened Israeli crushed invasion. But nan militant group mightiness besides beryllium successful disarray aft Israeli intelligence apparently penetrated its highest levels.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, gathering pinch Israeli troops connected Monday, said Israel would “use each nan capabilities we have,” hinting astatine a crushed operation. “You are portion of this effort,” he added.

In nan past week, Israel has often targeted Beirut’s confederate suburbs, wherever Hezbollah has a beardown beingness — including the monolithic onslaught connected Friday that killed Nasrallah — but had not deed locations person to nan metropolis center.

The onslaught early Monday killed 3 members of nan Popular Front for nan Liberation of Palestine, a small, leftist faction that has not been meaningfully progressive successful months of fighting betwixt Israel and Hezbollah successful Lebanon. Israel has not claimed nan onslaught but is wide assumed to person carried it out.

Also Monday, Hamas announced that its apical commandant successful Lebanon, Fatah Sharif, was killed pinch his family successful an airstrike connected nan Al-Buss exile campy successful nan confederate larboard metropolis of Tyre. The Israeli subject confirmed that it had targeted him.

The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said Sharif was an employee, and was put connected administrative time off without salary successful March arsenic it investigated allegations astir his governmental activities. Israel has accused nan agency, known arsenic UNRWA, of links to Palestinian militant groups, while nan agency says it is committed to neutrality and works to forestall immoderate specified infiltration.

Hezbollah began firing rockets, drones and missiles into bluish Israel aft Hamas’ Oct. 7 onslaught from Gaza into Israel sparked nan warfare successful nan Palestinian territory. Hezbollah and Hamas are friends and some supported by Iran, and Hezbollah said it would proceed nan attacks successful solidarity pinch nan Palestinians until location was a cease-fire successful Gaza.

Israel responded to nan rockets pinch airstrikes successful Lebanon, wherever Hezbollah is based, and nan fighting has steadily escalated complete nan past year. The Lebanese authorities says nan fighting may person displaced up to a cardinal people, though nan U.N. estimate is astir 200,000.

Tens of thousands of Israelis person besides been displaced. Israel has vowed to support fighting until nan attacks extremity and its citizens tin return to their homes.

The United States and its friends person called for a cease-fire, hoping to debar further escalation that could tie successful Iran and group disconnected a wider war. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has shown small interest, arsenic his state racks up subject achievements against a longtime foe.

Some Israelis collapsed into spontaneous celebrations aft Nasrallah’s decease was announced. Videos circulated of crowds astatine bars singing a opus successful Hebrew mocking him. A news anchor connected a pro-Netanyahu position sang and danced arsenic nan workplace assemblage joined successful pinch him while a commentator connected Israel’s largest TV position offered co-panelists celebratory shots.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said nan state is committed to an contiguous cease-fire followed by nan deployment of Lebanese troops successful nan south, successful keeping pinch a U.N. Security Council solution that ended nan 2006 warfare but was ne'er afloat implemented.

Mikati said aft gathering pinch French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot. France, which has adjacent ties to Lebanon, has joined nan United States in calling for a cease-fire.

Hezbollah, which boasts tens of thousands of battle-hardened fighters and long-range missiles tin of hitting anyplace wrong Israel, has agelong been seen arsenic nan astir powerful militant group successful nan region and a cardinal partner to Iran successful some threatening and deterring Israel.

But Hezbollah has ne'er faced an onslaught rather for illustration this one, which began pinch a blase onslaught connected its pagers and walkie-talkies successful mid-September that killed dozens of group and wounded astir 3,000 — including galore fighters but besides galore civilians.

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This communicative has been updated to correct that Monday’s onslaught successful cardinal Beirut deed an flat building, but it did not level it.

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Melzer reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue and Kareem Chehayeb successful Beirut, and Jamey Keaten successful Geneva, contributed reporting.

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