Sunday witnessed a heavy exchange of fire between Israel andHezbollahThe Lebanese group fired rockets deep into northern Israel after suffering some of the heaviest bombardment in nearly a year of conflict.
Hezbollah Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qassem said during the funeral of the group’s prominent leader: Ibrahim Aqilwho was killed in an Israeli bombardment of Beirut’s southern suburbs, said on Friday: “We will not determine how to respond to the aggression and we have entered a new phase entitled the open account battle.”
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said operations would continue until it was safe for evacuees in the north to return, setting the stage for a protracted conflict as Hezbollah vowed to continue fighting until a ceasefire in the parallel war in the Gaza Strip. Gaza.
Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said in a televised statement that the army was well prepared for the next stages of fighting, which are scheduled to take place in the coming days, but he did not say what that might entail.
“We will do whatever it takes to eliminate threats against Israel,” he added.