Hezbollah chief dubs killing of Hamas leader 'blatant Israeli attack'

The killing of Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri was a "blatant Israeli attack" on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut, the secretary general of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement, Hassan Nasrallah, said on Wednesday.

"Should the enemy [Israel] think of waging a war on Lebanon, we will not abide by any rules," Nasrallah said in a speech via video link during a rally to mark the fourth anniversary of the killing of the powerful Iranian general Qassem Soleimani by a US drone in Iraq in 2020.

He reiterated that the assassination of al-Arouri will not pass without punishment.

"Until now, we are fighting on the front with precise calculations. If the enemy launches a war on Lebanon, our fighting will be without ceilings, limits, rules and controls ... Whoever thinks about war with us will regret it, as war with us is very, very costly," he said.

He added that Israel tried to project "an image of victory through the killing of al Arouri."

Against the backdrop of al-Arouri's killing, Nasrallah's speech was eagerly awaited.

Al-Arouri, the deputy head of Hamas' political bureau, was killed in an explosion in Lebanon's capital on Tuesday evening. Hamas blamed Israel. When asked, the Israeli army did not want to comment on the killing.

Since the beginning of the Gaza war on October 7, there has been repeated shelling between Hezbollah and the Israeli military on the Lebanese-Israeli border. There have been deaths on both sides.