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A large response from Hezbollah is unlikely – but the Middle East is an unpredictable place<\/h4>\n<\/p>\n
By Nicole Johnson, Sky News correspondent in Israel<\/p>\n
The Middle East is holding its breath, waiting to see how Hezbollah will respond to the assassination of Hamas leader, Salah al Arouri, in Hezbollah’s own Beirut backyard. <\/p>\n
But Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, did not give much away during his speech in Beirut. It was only the third address he’s given since the war in Gaza started. Part two of the speech is on Friday. <\/p>\n
Nasrallah emphasised that while the group doesn’t “fear war” it was taking Lebanon’s “national interest” into account, by maintaining a “calculated” battle on its front with Lebanon.\n<\/p>\n
He circled through all the threats and fronts Israel is facing from what Iran calls its “axis of resistance”. <\/p>\n
The Hezbollah leader said all these Iranian backed non-state actors are carrying out their attacks independently, they are not “lackies or tools”. <\/p>\n
With Lebanon in the grip of a severe economic collapse, it\u2019s not in Hezbollah\u2018s interest to bring war to the streets of Beirut. <\/p>\n
Taking into account Nasrallah\u2019s speech and Lebanon\u2019s dire position, it is unlikely we will see a response from Hezbollah that\u2019s large enough to warrant Israel launching all-out war on Lebanon.<\/p>\n
But the Middle East is an unpredictable place, and this period of war in Gaza is unprecedented, so anything could happen.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
It was the first strike to hit Lebanon’s capital following nearly three months of almost daily clashes between the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and Hezbollah which have been confined to the border region.<\/p>\n
Nasrallah’s comments came before a local Hezbollah leader was killed in a strike in southern Lebanon, Sky News has been told.<\/p>\n
The official has been named as Hussein Yazbek. The strike hit Naqoura, with reports suggesting three or four people were killed.<\/p>\n
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the strike.<\/p>\n
Hezbollah’s support for Hamas<\/strong><\/p>\nHezbollah launched rockets across the border towards Israel on 8 October in support of Hamas.<\/p>\n
A day earlier, Hamas had carried out a deadly assault in southern Israel that prompted a fierce Israeli bombing campaign of the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n
Nasrallah claims his group’s “quick” actions on 8 October, and the cross-border shelling since then, had stopped a broader aerial bombardment of Lebanon by Israel.<\/p>\n
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