Iran expects Hezbollah would hit 'broader, deeper' Israeli targets

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
3 Aug 2024 15:16

A spokesperson for Iran's mission to the UN says the Israeli aggression on Beirut "marked a deviation from these boundaries."

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A portrait of Hezbollah military commander Fouad Shokor is displayed during a demonstration denouncing his assassination and that of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, in the Lebanese coastal city of Saida, on August 2, 2024. (AFP)

Hezbollah’s response to the recent Israeli assassination of one of its top commanders would see the Lebanese Resistance group attacking "broader and deeper" Israeli targets, Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations said it expects, as reported by Iran's Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

The mission made the statement in response to questions about the nature of Hezbollah’s retaliation against the assassination of Sayyed Fouad Shokor (Hajj Mohsen).

Hezbollah on July 30 mourned Shokor after he was targeted by an Israeli airstrike in Haret Hreik, the Southern Suburb of Beirut, hours before the Israeli occupation assassinated the head of Hamas' political bureau Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital Tehran. The Israeli aggression killed, in addition to leader Shokor and an Iranian advisor, five civilians - three women and two children - according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

"Until now, Hezbollah and the [Israeli] regime have, in an unwritten understanding, practically adhered to certain limits in their military operations, meaning that confining their actions to border areas and shallow zones, targeting primarily military objectives," explained a spokesperson for the mission on Friday night.

The spokesperson noted, however, that the Israeli aggression on Beirut "marked a deviation from these boundaries."

"We anticipate that, in its response, Hezbollah will choose both broader and deeper targets, and will not restrict itself solely to military targets and means."

When asked about the targets, the spokesperson indicated that they would be "within" the Israeli-occupied territories.

In his speech at a large funeral ceremony held for Shokor, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah revealed that the Lebanese Resistance group has been contacted by countries and parties around the world to talk it out of responding to the assassination, adding that Hezbollah made it clear that this is not up for debate.

He underlined that the Israeli regime and its backers "must await our inevitable response" for Shokor's assassination and that "there is no debate or argument about this."

Hajj Mohsen, from the town of Nabi Sheet in the Bekaa Valley, is considered one of the founding members of the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon.

Fouad Shokor, a senior military commander and Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's close confidant was targeted by "Israel" in the Southern Suburb of #Beirut, #Lebanon, on Tuesday evening.

Here's everything you need to know about him. pic.twitter.com/9kM0IscQr7
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) July 31, 2024

Shokor began his military activities in the Ouzai area in Lebanon's capital, Beirut, and quickly became a key figure in the Resistance against the 1982 Israeli invasion.

He participated in notable battles such as those in Khalde and the Faculty of Sciences in Beirut, where he emerged as a significant commander and helped establish Resistance groups.

Shokor was considered one of Sayyed Nasrallah's closest advisors and has been pursued by the United States for the alleged role he played in a bombing operation that eliminated US and French soldiers deployed in Lebanon in 1983.

Following the operation, the US placed a $5 million bounty for any information on Shokor but failed to find him. He was designated as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" by the United States in 2019 after he was designated by the Department of the Treasury in 2015.