Hezbollah Declares 'Open-ended Battle' with Israel

Naim Qassem, Hezbollah deputy secretary-general, speaks during the funeral procession of Ibrahim Aqil, the head of Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force, in Beirut's southern suburbs on September 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Naim Qassem, Hezbollah deputy secretary-general, speaks during the funeral procession of Ibrahim Aqil, the head of Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force, in Beirut's southern suburbs on September 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
TT

Hezbollah Declares 'Open-ended Battle' with Israel

Naim Qassem, Hezbollah deputy secretary-general, speaks during the funeral procession of Ibrahim Aqil, the head of Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force, in Beirut's southern suburbs on September 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Naim Qassem, Hezbollah deputy secretary-general, speaks during the funeral procession of Ibrahim Aqil, the head of Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force, in Beirut's southern suburbs on September 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

Hezbollah's deputy leader, Naim Qassem, declared on Sunday that the group is now in an “open-ended battle of reckoning” with Israel, and he vowed to prolong the misery of those displaced from the country's north.

Qassem spoke at the funeral of Hezbollah's senior commander and founder of the elite Radwan forces Ibrahim Aqil.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said operations would continue until it was safe for evacuated people on his side of the border to return.

The conflict - which sharply escalated over the past week - has raged since Iran-backed Hezbollah opened a second front against Israel, saying it was acting in solidarity with Palestinians facing an Israeli offensive further south in Gaza.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members exploded in an attack widely blamed on Israel.

The next day, Israel launched its heaviest bombardment of Lebanon yet. Friday saw Aqil killed along with several other senior Hezbollah military figures in a strike on Beirut's southern suburb.

Saturday again saw unprecedented bombardment that the Israeli military said struck around 290 targets, including thousands of Hezbollah rocket launcher barrels.

Qassem said Israel was seeking to paralyze the group, but would not succeed.

He added that Israel's escalation of the conflict would lead to further displacement of its own citizens.

“We admit that we are pained. We are humans. But as we are pained, you will also be pained,” Qassem warned.

He has said Hezbollah will stop attacking northern Israel only if the country can reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip with Hamas.

Israel has closed schools, restricted gatherings in the north and ordered hospitals there to move patients and staff to protected areas - many have secured or underground facilities designed to withstand rocket fire.

Air raid sirens sounded constantly in Israel on Sunday. About 150 rockets, cruise missiles and drones were fired at Israel overnight and into Sunday, most of which were intercepted by air defenses, including an "aerial target" that came from the east, the military said.

Several buildings were struck, including a house badly damaged near the Israeli city of Haifa. Rescue teams treated wounded but there were no reports of deaths. Residents had been instructed to stay near bomb shelters and safe rooms.

Hezbollah said it hit a barracks and another Israeli position with squadrons of attack drones on Sunday, and also launched rockets at military-industrial facilities in an "initial response" to the device attacks last week.



US Links Ankara-Damascus Normalization to Political Solution in Syria

Meeting between Erdogan and Assad in 2010 (Archive)
Meeting between Erdogan and Assad in 2010 (Archive)
TT

US Links Ankara-Damascus Normalization to Political Solution in Syria

Meeting between Erdogan and Assad in 2010 (Archive)
Meeting between Erdogan and Assad in 2010 (Archive)

Recent statements by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his willingness to meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to normalize relations between the two countries have sparked mixed reactions.
While the Syrian opposition sees the possibility of such a meeting despite the challenges, Damascus views the statements as a political maneuver by the Turks. Meanwhile, the United States has tied the normalization process to achieving a political solution in Syria based on UN Security Council Resolution 2254, issued in 2015.
Turkish media reported on Thursday that a US administration official, who was not named, confirmed that Washington is against normalizing relations with the Syrian regime under Assad. He emphasized that Washington cannot accept normalizing ties with Damascus without progress toward a political solution that ends the conflicts in Syria.
Meanwhile, the head of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, Hadi al-Bahra, stated that a meeting between Assad and Erdogan is possible despite the obstacles. In a statement to Reuters on Thursday, Bahra said the meeting is feasible, even though Ankara is fully aware that the Assad regime cannot currently meet its demands and understands the regime’s limitations.
Bahra pointed out that the UN-led political process remains frozen and that he had briefed US and Western officials on the latest developments in the Syrian file. On Saturday, Bahra participated in a consultative meeting in Ankara with the Syrian Negotiation Commission, along with a high-level delegation from the US State Department, during which they exchanged views on the political solution and the need to establish binding mechanisms for implementing international resolutions related to the Syrian issue.
On the other side, Assad’s special advisor, Bouthaina Shaaban, dismissed Erdogan’s announcement that Ankara is awaiting a response from Damascus regarding his meeting with Assad for normalization as another political maneuver with ulterior motives.
Shaaban, speaking during a lecture at the Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was reported by Turkish media on Thursday, stated that any rapprochement between the two countries is contingent on its withdrawal of forces from Syrian territory.