HEZBOLLAH’S DEPUTY LEADER has said that his group is “ready for any ground confrontation” with Israel.
Israel has in recent days been mounting heavy air strikes in Lebanon against the so-called “axis of resistance”, a network of Iran-aligned militant groups in the region, including in Syria, Yemen and Iraq.
On Friday, an Israeli strike killed Hassan Nasrallah, the head of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah that has been armed and financed by the Islamic republic for years.
Speaking today, the group’s deputy leader Naim Qassem said they would choose a new chief “at the earliest opportunity”.
“We will select a new secretary-general for the party at the earliest opportunity,” Qassem said in a speech broadcast by Hezbollah’s Al-Manar channel, the first address by a senior group leader since Nasrallah’s death.
He did not say when the selection would take place, or when Nasrallah’s funeral would be held.
Qassem said Nasrallah …