Hezbollah leader promises response to Israel’s strike killing top commander

Naim Qassem, the leader of Hezbollah, asserts that the organization has the right to respond to the week-long strike in southern Beirut against Israel’s top military leader.

Qassem described the killing of Haytham Ali Tabtabai as “a blatant aggression and a heinous crime” in a televised speech on Friday, adding that the Lebanese armed group has “the right to respond, and we will determine the timing for that.”

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Do you anticipate a conflict later? It’s possible at some point. Yes, there is a chance of a war, and there is also one, Qassem said.

Qassem argued that Lebanon should develop a strategy to confront Israel, which rely on “its army and its people,” without specifically stating what the group’s role would be in any new war would be.

The Hezbollah leader added that he hoped that Pope Leo’s upcoming visit to Lebanon would “help bring about peace and put an end to the]Israeli] aggression.”

Qassem reaffirmed that Hezbollah had complied with the ceasefire that had been in place since November 2024 and that had called for the Israeli government to stop its ongoing attacks on Lebanon.

When he was struck, Tabtabai was meeting with four of his aides “to prepare for future actions,” according to Qassem.

Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee criticized Qassem’s remarks, calling Israeli military operations “inadequate.”

In a post on X, Adraee wrote that “Hezbollah continues to manipulate them and work covertly to keep its arsenal.”

Hezbollah has asserted that it will not give up its weapons as long as Israel continues to launch attacks on Lebanese territory and deploys its forces at five locations throughout southern Lebanon.

Israel has attacked Beirut several times and has been carrying out nearly daily strikes against southern Lebanon. The capital had not been hit in months prior to the assassination, though, prior to last week’s murder.