Hezbollah responds to threats: We are not neutral

While the world's eyes were focused on the humiliation of the Israel’s army and settlers, Israel was coordinating with the United States and Europe on the northern front to assess the possibility of the Islamic resistance joining as a full partner in the operation, at unexpected levels.

This article was originally published in, translated from the Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar.

Hezbollah did not delay in announcing its position on what was happening.

Additionally, the Islamic resistance carried out a military operation against three sites in the Shebaa Farms before the political stance was declared by head of Hezbollah's executive council Hashem Safieddine, stating decisively, "The resistance in Lebanon is not neutral in the ongoing battle between the Palestinian resistance and the occupying forces."

Hours after the launch of the guerrilla operations in the occupied Gaza Strip, Hezbollah swiftly issued a statement, declaring that "the operation is a decisive response to the occupation's crimes and a message to the Arab and Islamic world and the international community as a whole."

Hezbollah also made it clear that "the leadership of the Islamic resistance in Lebanon is closely monitoring the important developments in the Palestinian arena and is in direct contact with the leadership of the Palestinian resistance."

Later, Israel began monitoring Hezbollah's movements in the border area following information about a significant mobilization of its forces.

The United States and France rushed to convey Israeli messages to Lebanon aimed at avoiding the opening of a new front against it.

Furthermore, it was known that "Paris conveyed messages to Hezbollah on this matter," as well as "American messages sent to the caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, warning of Lebanon's involvement in this war."

Israel’s representative at the UN Security Council, Gilad Erdan, revealed this by announcing that his government had asked "several countries to inform the Lebanese government that we will hold it responsible for any Hezbollah attack on Israel."

Consequently, Hezbollah did not delay in responding to the external threats, launching an operation targeting "groups of the martyr leader Imad Mughniyeh in the Islamic resistance" at three Israeli occupation sites in the occupied Lebanese Shebaa Farms, using a large number of artillery shells and guided missiles, causing direct hits to the sites, according to a statement by the resistance.

Safieddine also announced during a solidarity event with the Palestinian resistance, "The resistance sent a message this morning in Kfarshuba, saying that it is our right to target the enemy that still occupies our land, and this is a message that the Israelis must take very seriously.”

He said, “There is a message to the Americans and the Israelis that what happened in Gaza has a conclusion, that your ongoing arrogance has led to the Al-Aqsa Flood, and if you persist, you will witness the flood of the nation that will drown the entire entity."

Thus, Israel responded to the targeting of its positions with artillery shelling in open areas, along with targeting the tent set up by the resistance in the Shebaa farm.

After a while, the resistance set up a new tent in the same location, and the fighters intentionally displayed their equipment and belongings, even starting to prepare coffee on a wood-burning stove.

Moreover, when a patrol from the Lebanese army arrived, the leader of the resistance group asked one of the officers to deliver a message to UNIFIL, warning Israel against targeting the tent and those inside it, or else the consequences would be catastrophic.

In return, Israel did not delay in sending a message to UNIFIL, in which it decisively stated its decision not to escalate on the northern border with Hezbollah.

However, the Indian unit within UNIFIL quickly evacuated its position opposite the resistance's tent after it became apparent that Israeli shelling targeting the hills of Kfarshuba had wounded two child with glass fragments.

During the day, the Patriot missile defense system launched a missile against an airborne target, and after Israel claimed to have suspected a drone flying over settlements in the Upper Galilee launched by Hezbollah, it later denied the incident.