Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said on Wednesday that he would address the exchange of fire between his organization and the Israeli military overnight on Tuesday “later” in a “suitable context.”
“We see this [Israeli] aggression as sensitive and dangerous, but I will deliberately delay tackling it until a later time so that it occurs in the suitable context that is coming,” he said during a televised speech, according to Hezbollah’s Al Manar TV.
Israeli attack helicopters and aircraft struck Hezbollah observation posts in Lebanon early on Wednesday morning after Israeli forces were fired upon from across the border at 10:40 p.m. on Tuesday, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
According to the Israeli military, the sniper was located between two outposts belonging to the UNIFIL peacekeeping force in an attempt to use the United Nations troops as a shield.
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, sent a letter to members of the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday demanding that significant changes be made to the mandate of the UNIFIL peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon to “improve the U.N. force’s ability to fully access and monitor areas in which Hezbollah operates,” according to an Israeli statement.
“There is no justification for having an ineffective force operate in territory in which Hezbollah is using to arm itself and turn southern Lebanon into a terrorist base. Only a significant change to UNIFIL’s purpose and capabilities on the ground can justify its existence,” wrote Erdan, according to the statement.
“Israel has demonstrated to the council a clear link between the areas where significant terrorist activity takes place and where UNIFIL’s access is blocked,” added the statement.
“Erdan’s appeal comes as part of a diplomatic effort led by the United States and Israel to affect the Security Council’s decision on renewing the mandate at the end of the month,” it said.
The United States is threatening to veto a resolution to extend the peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon if its mandate is not changed, Axios reported on Aug. 12, citing Israeli and U.S. officials.