Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary-General, Naim Qassem, stressed on Thursday that “the decision to respond to Israel has been made and will be implemented.”
This statement by Hezbollah’s number two comes at a time when a meeting sponsored by the United States, Qatar and Egypt is being held in Doha to relaunch talks for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages held by Hamas since October 7, 2023.
Naim Qassem also described the visit of the US President’s envoy Amos Hochstein to Beirut as a “show,” adding that “the United States wants to show that it is acting, while it is talking in a vacuum and has no specific proposals to put forward.”
Israel’s Channel 13 reported that “Israel now believes that Hezbollah is determined to respond to the assassination of one of its leaders, Fouad Shokr.”
It added that “Hezbollah (…) has not yet determined its targets.”
As a reminder, these reprisals, threatened by Hezbollah and its Iranian sponsor, follow the assassination of Hamas bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh – blamed on Israel – which took place in Tehran on July 31, and that of Hezbollah’s senior military officer and close advisor to its Secretary-General, Fouad Shokr, the next day. Shokr killed by the Israeli army in Haret Hreik, in the heart of Beirut’s southern suburbs, Hezbollah’s stronghold.