Nasrallah says Lebanon could be 'exposed' to more Israeli attacks

BEIRUT — Hezbollah General Secretary Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday Lebanon would be "exposed" to more Israeli operations if his powerful Lebanese armed group did not respond to the killing of the deputy chief of Hamas on the outskirts of Beirut.

Saleh al-Arouri was killed in a drone strike on a southern suburb of Beirut on Tuesday, in what some analysts said could also be seen as a message to Hezbollah that its strongholds were vulnerable to attack.

Delivering a televised address for the second time in less than a week after nearly two months without doing so, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said the group "cannot be silent about a violation of this level."

"This means that all of Lebanon will become exposed, all cities, villages, and figures will become exposed," he said.

Hezbollah launched rockets across the border on Oct. 8 in support of Hamas, one day after Hamas gunmen carried out the deadly attack on southern Israel that triggered Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Nasrallah said Hezbollah had carried out some 670 operations on the Lebanese-Israeli border since then, destroying a "large number" of Israeli military vehicles and tanks.

He also said that if the Israeli military managed to achieve its military goals in Gaza, it would then turn to Lebanon.

In his Wednesday speech, Nasrallah warned Israel against expanding its war, saying there would be "no ceilings" and "no rules" to his group's fighting if Israel chose to launch a war on Lebanon.

"Whoever thinks of war with us — in one word, he will regret it," Nasrallah said.