‘We are ready for more whenever necessary,’ Hezbollah deputy leader warns Israel

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(28 Dec 2023)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Beirut, Lebanon – 28 December 2023
1. Deputy chief of Hezbollah Sheikh Naim Kassem
2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Sheikh Naim Kassem, Hezbollah’s deputy Chief:
“Hezbollah and the resistance in Lebanon are making great sacrifices in support of Gaza and the future of this country. We are making the sacrifices that the battle requires, and they are great, but we are also repelling a great danger. We are ready for more whenever necessary. We are not intimidated by threats or warnings. We in the field are clear that we are part of this battle.”
3. Mid of mourners
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Sheikh Naim Kassem, Hezbollah’s deputy Chief:
“If Israel goes too far, we will retaliate twice. We will not fear either Israeli or American threats or intimidation, because the future of the region now depends on this hope and this sacrifice.”
5. Mourners offering condolences

STORYLINE:
Sheikh Naim Kassem, Hezbollah’s deputy leader, warned Isreal in a speech Thursday that the militant group is ready to escalate militarily if Israel does.

“We are making the sacrifices that the battle requires, and they are great, but we are also repelling a great danger,” Kassem said during a service in Beirut.

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He added: “We are ready for more whenever necessary. We are not intimidated by threats or warnings. We in the field are clear that we are part of this battle.”

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The Iran-backed Shiite militant group has been attacking Israeli posts since a day after the unprecedented Oct. 7 Hamas-led incursion into southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and set off the latest Israeli-Hamas war, which has killed more than 20,000 Palestinians in Gaza, also mostly civilians. Israeli tanks, artillery and air force have also been striking areas on the Lebanese side of the border.

In response to recent rhetoric by Israeli leaders threatening military action in Lebanon if Hezbollah does not stop its strikes, Kassem said: “If Israel goes too far, we will retaliate twice. We will not fear either Israeli or American threats or intimidation, because the future of the region now depends on this hope and this sacrifice.”

Clashes between Hezbollah and the Israeli military thus far have been mostly limited to several towns along the border.

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Israel and Hezbollah fought a month-long war in 2006 that ended in a stalemate. Israel sees Iran-backed Hezbollah as its most serious threat, estimating it has around 150,000 rockets and missiles aimed at Israel.

More than 150 people have been killed on the Lebanese side in the clashes, most of them fighters with Hezbollah and allied groups, but also including at least 19 civilians, according to a tally by The Associated Press.

AP video by Fadi Tawil

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