On Tuesday, Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah warned Israel would pay the price for killing high-ranking Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) in the previous day’s strike on the country’s consulate in Damascus, Syria.
Since the Gaza war began in October, Hezbollah has exchanged almost daily cross-border fire with Israel in support of its allies Hamas.
In a statement, Hezbollah stated, “Certainly, this crime will not pass without the enemy receiving punishment and revenge”.
The IRGC reported, “The Israeli strike killed seven IRGC members including Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi and another high-ranking officer, Brigadier General Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi”.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, reported that 11 persons were killed in the strikes, including eight Iranians, two Syrians, and one Lebanese, all of them fighters.
“Zahedi was one of the first to support, sacrifice, and persevere for many years to develop and advance the work of the resistance (Hezbollah) in Lebanon”, Hezbollah continued.
According to the Observatory, Zahedi was the leader of Iran’s special Quds Force for Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon, and he was assassinated alongside his deputy, his aide, and the Quds Force chief of staff for those three countries.
Israel declined to comment on the purported bombing, but Iranian authorities vowed a strong response amid worries of additional confrontation between Israel and Iran’s allies sparked by the Gaza war.
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