Hezbollah leader says group will respond but keeping Israelis waiting is part of ‘punishment’

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said his group will respond to Israel “regardless of the consequences” to avenge the assassination of the group’s top commander a week ago, but keeping Israelis waiting is “part of the punishment.”

“Their government, their army, their society, their settlements and their occupiers are all waiting,” Nasrallah said. Keeping Israel waiting is “part of the battle,” he added.

Loud sonic booms from Israeli jets circling over central Beirut were heard ahead of Nasrallah’s speech which is held to commemorate the group’s top commander, Fuad Shukr, who was assassinated one week ago. A CNN team felt the building shake and saw the jets fire several flares.

The monthslong, cross-border exchange of fire intensified Tuesday morning after Hezbollah launched a “swarm” of drones towards what it said are military targets in northern Israeli cities. The Israel Defense Forces said one drone was intercepted, and the incident left several people injured, including one man who was seriously wounded in the northern Israeli city of Nahariya.

Israel struck a building in southern Lebanon earlier killing five people. The Israeli military said the building was used by Hezbollah.

The region is bracing for an expected response from Hezbollah and Iran for the assassinations of Shukr and Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Tehran last week.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his Islamic Revolutionary Guard promised Israel a “painful” response for the killing of Haniyeh in Tehran.

On Monday, rockets fired towards Al-Asad Airbase in Iraq injured several US personnel in what Pentagon said was an attack by Iran-backed groups.

“We might all respond at the same time, or maybe it’s better in the [resistance] axis for each [group] to respond in the way that suits them and with the targets they choose,” Nasrallah said.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered additional military assets to the region, sending a carrier strike group, a fighter squadron and additional warships to the Middle East.

Officials across the world have been conducting intensified shuttle diplomacy in an attempt to contain Iran’s response. The Jordanian foreign minister travelled to Iran this week in a rare visit aimed at deescalating the tensions and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held calls with G7 foreign ministers to discuss an urgent need for de-escalation.

On Wednesday, foreign ministers representing Islamic countries, including Iran, will travel to Jeddah for an extraordinary meeting at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to discuss the assassination of Haniyeh.

This is a developing story and will be updated.