Hezbollah warns Israel against targeting Palestinian militants in Lebanon

Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, above, speaking via a video link, warned against any Israeli attempts to expand their targeting of Palestinian militants to Lebanon. (AP)
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  • Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah: 鈥楢ny attack on any human being will not go unpunished or unanswered鈥�
  • Israeli defense minister Benny Gantz hinted at the possible targeting of Islamic Jihad officials abroad

The head of Lebanon鈥檚 powerful armed movement Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, warned on Tuesday against any Israeli attempts to expand their targeting of Palestinian militants to Lebanon.
鈥淎ny attack on any human being will not go unpunished or unanswered,鈥� Nasrallah said in a televised address marking Ashura, a melancholic commemoration for Shiite Muslims of the killing the Prophet Muhammad鈥檚 grandson Hussein.
The comments came after a flare-up in violence between Israel and the Islamic Jihad movement in the Gaza strip, prompted by Israel鈥檚 arrest of a senior Islamic Jihad leader earlier this month.
On Saturday, Israeli defense minister Benny Gantz hinted at the possible targeting of Islamic Jihad officials abroad, who he said could be seen in 鈥渞estaurants and hotels in Tehran, Syria and Lebanon.鈥�
鈥淭hey too will have to pay the price,鈥� Gantz said.
On Monday, a day after a truce brokered by Egypt ended the Gaza violence, he said Israel could carry out 鈥減re-emptive strikes鈥� abroad.
鈥淚n the future too, if necessary, we will deliver a pre-emptive strike in order to defend Israel鈥檚 citizens, sovereignty and infrastructure and this is true for all fronts, from Teheran to Khan Younis,鈥� he said.
Iran-backed Hezbollah is vehemently opposed to Israel and tensions between the two have been escalating in recent months over a disputed maritime border between Lebanon and Israel.