Hezbollah prepares for escalation amid rising tensions with Israel

Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of the Shiite Hezbollah party, has declared that recent attacks by his armed groups on northern Israeli settlements are not yet a retaliation for the deaths of military commander Fouad Shokr and Palestinian Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

"Strikes on Israel are being prepared from Iran, Yemen, and Lebanon. They will undoubtedly be carried out," Caliber.Az reports, citing Nasrallah's speech as broadcast by foreign media.

"Our joint response will be powerful, precise, and effective."

He stressed that Hezbollah did not instigate the conflict's escalation.

"We did not seek military escalation. It was Israel’s decision; it was their choice," he asserted. "Now, there will be days and nights of battles between us."

Nasrallah also claimed that the Shiite fighters possess rocket weapons capable of "destroying several Israeli military factories in less than an hour."

"The fact that the Israelis have been waiting a week for our retaliation is part of their punishment," he added.

On July 31, the radical Palestinian movement Hamas announced that Politburo Chairman Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli strike on his residence in Tehran, where he was attending the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. According to the Al Hadath TV channel, Haniyeh lost his life in a direct missile strike.

On July 30, the Israeli army confirmed a strike on Beirut and the death of Fouad Shokr, who was regarded as Nasrallah's right-hand man.