Netanyahu says Israel ‘ready for every scenario’ following assassination of Hezbollah leader

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Tel Aviv is prepared for any scenario following the assassination of Hezbollah leader Fouad Shukr.

He emphasized that the war on Gaza will not stop.

“From the beginning of the war, I made it clear that we are fighting against the Iranian axis of evil,” Netanyahu said in a recorded message aired by local media.

“In my speech to (US) Congress, I emphasized the three main tools of the Iranian axis of evil: Hamas, the Houthis, and Hezbollah,” he added.

Hinting at responsibility for the assassination of Hamas' political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, he noted, “In the past few days, we have dealt a crushing blow to each of them.”

“Three weeks ago, we targeted Hamas Chief of Staff Mohammed Deif. Two weeks ago, we attacked the Houthis in one of the most far-reaching operations, and yesterday we targeted Hezbollah Chief of Staff (Fouad Shukr),” he said.

He alleged that Shukr was responsible for a rocket that fell Saturday on the Druz town Saturday in Majdal Shams in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights that killed 12 people. Hezbollah denied responsibility for the attack.

"Challenging days are ahead, and since the strike in Beirut, threats are being sounded from everywhere,” said Netanyahu. “We are ready for every scenario and will stand united and determined against every threat,” he said.

The Israeli premier noted facing pressure for months to end the assault, without specifying the sources of pressure, but insisted, “I have not succumbed to those voices and will not.”

He justified his recalcitrance by saying, “If we had surrendered, we would not have destroyed the terrorists and their infrastructure, we would not have controlled the Philadelphia Corridor, and we would not have created the conditions that bring us closer to the plan for the release of hostages.”

Israel announced Tuesday the assassination of Shukr, 63, in an airstrike on Beirut. Hezbollah confirmed the death of the prominent Hezbollah military late Wednesday.

Hours after the attack on Shukr, Hamas said Tel Aviv assassinated Ismail Haniyeh in an airstrike that targeted his home in Tehran, where he had arrived to attend the inauguration of Iran's new President Masoud Bezhkishan.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas.

At least 39,445 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 91,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

Nearly 10 months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio