Hezbollah pledges to respond alone or with allies to Israeli killing of commander

Concern is rising that the Middle East could tip into full-blown war following Hezbollah’s vows to avenge Shukr’s killing, and Iran’s anger over the assassination in Tehran last week of the head of Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Iran has blamed Israel while Israel has not confirmed or denied involvement.

Describing the twin killings as clear “Israeli achievements” Nasrallah said they should not be taken as a sign the tide of the conflict was turning against Iran’s Axis of Resistance. “Take it easy,” he said.

He said Hezbollah had tried to prevent fighting with Israel from spreading beyond the border area to the rest of Lebanon, where summer parties have continued and vacationers were still arriving in throngs until last week.

But “the Israelis are the ones that chose this escalation with Lebanon”, Nasrallah said.

“Nobody in Lebanon or abroad can ask us to deal with the aggression that happened last Tuesday as a normal aggression within the context of the battle that has been going on for 10 months,” he said.