Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned against any Israeli attempts to expand their offensive against Palestinian fighters in Lebanon.
"Any attack on humanity will not go unpunished or go unanswered," Nasrallah said in a televised address marking Ashura, a memorial to Shia Muslims for the murder of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Hussein.
The comments came in the wake of increasing violence between Israel and the Islamic Jihad movement in the Gaza Strip. Read also: Russia Considers Israel Guilty for Attacking Gaza, Ukraine Defends Zionist Brutal Action The battle was triggered by Israel's arrest of a senior Islamic Jihad leader earlier this month.
On Saturday, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz hinted at the possible targeting of Islamic Jihad officials abroad, which he said could be seen in "restaurants and hotels in Tehran, Syria and Lebanon." “They also have to pay the price,” Gantz said.
a day after an Egypt-brokered ceasefire ended Gaza violence, he said Israel could carry out "preventive strikes" abroad.
"In the future too, if necessary, we will carry out a preemptive strike to defend the Israeli people, sovereignty and infrastructure and this applies to all fronts, from Tehran to Khan Younis," he threatened.
Iran-backed Hezbollah strongly opposes Israel and tensions between the two have escalated in recent months over the disputed maritime border between Lebanon and Israel.