Hezbollah leader vows retaliation for future attacks

BEIRUT — The leader of the militant Hezbollah group said Saturday his group will retaliate against any future Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon, a day after his supporters fired a barrage of rockets toward Israel.

Hassan Nasrallah said it would be wrong to assume Hezbollah would be constrained by internal divisions in Lebanon, or the country’s harsh economic crisis.

Mr. Nasrallah’s comments came a day after his group fired rockets toward Israel, calling it retaliation for Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon a day earlier.

Thursday’s airstrikes were in response to mysterious rockets that were fired Wednesday from Lebanon toward Israel.

Friday’s rocket fire was the third day of attacks along the volatile border with Lebanon, a major Middle East flashpoint where tensions between Israel and Iran, which backs Hezbollah, occasionally play out.

“Any airstrike by Israel’s airforce on Lebanon will be retaliated in a suitable way,” Mr. Nasrallah said.

Israel and Hezbollah are archenemies and have fought several wars in the past, the last of which ended in August 2006. The 34-day conflict ended with a draw that left 1,200 dead in Lebanon — mostly civilians — and 160 dead Israelis, mostly soldiers.

He added that Hezbollah had fired 20 rockets toward open fields only, because the Israeli airstrikes on Thursday had themselves hit open fields.

Lebanon is passing through its worst economic and financial crisis in its modern history, which the World Bank describes as among the worst the world has witnessed since the mid1800s.

Israel estimates Hezbollah possesses over 130,000 rockets and missiles capable of striking anywhere in the country.