(12 Jun 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Beirut, Lebanon – 12 June 2024
1. Wide of Hezbollah members in uniform carrying coffin of Hezbollah commander Taleb Sami Abdullah who was killed in an Israeli drone strike
2. Various of funeral procession for Abdullah
3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Hassan Ezzeddine, Lebanese member of parliament with Hezbollah bloc:
"No matter how hard the enemy tries to destroy, kill, and criminally commits acts of aggression, this resistance will undoubtedly respond with double the force. Its hand will remain the upper hand on the battlefield, and it will remain the strongest."
4. Various of prayer
5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Hashem Safieddine, Head of Hezbollah’s Executive Council:
"Our response after the martyrdom of ‘Abu Talib’ will be to intensify our operations in severity, strength, quantity and quality. Let the enemy wait for us on the battlefield. They will see who the brothers and sons of ‘Abu Talib’ are."
6. Various of funeral procession with coffin draped in Hezbollah’s flag being carried through crowds of chanting mourners
STORYLINE:
Hezbollah vowed Wednesday to intensify its attacks along the Lebanon-Israel border to avenge the killing by Israel of its most senior military commander since the latest round of violence began eight months ago.
Earlier Wednesday, Hezbollah fired a massive barrage of rockets into northern Israel further escalating regional tensions as the fate of an internationally-backed plan for a cease-fire in Gaza hung in the balance.
Hezbollah, an Iran-backed ally of Hamas, has traded fire with Israel nearly every day since the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, and says it will only stop if there is a truce in Gaza.
That has raised fears of an even more devastating regional conflagration.
On Wednesday afternoon, the coffin of Taleb Sami Abdullah, 55, was brought to Hezbollah’s stronghold in southern Beirut where a ceremony was held attended by hundreds of Hezbollah supporters and senior officials with the militant group.
Abdullah was known within Hezbollah as Hajj Abu Taleb.
The coffin draped in Hezbollah’s yellow flag was carried through a crowd of people as many women dressed in black wept nearby.
The casket was then placed on stage in an open area where special funeral prayers were held before the body was taken for burial in Abdullah’s hometown of Aadschit in south Lebanon.
"Our response after the martyrdom of Abu Talib will be to intensify our operations in severity, strength, quantity, and quality," senior Hezbollah official Hachem Saffieddine after the ceremony.
"Let the enemy wait for us on the battlefield," he added.
Saffieddine said Abdullah had taken part in Hezbollah’s military activities since he was young, including the 34-day Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006.
On Wednesday morning, air raid sirens sounded across northern Israel, and the military said that about 160 projectiles were fired from southern Lebanon, making it one of the largest attacks since the fighting began.
There were no immediate reports of casualties as some were intercepted while others ignited brush fires.
Hezbollah said it fired missiles and rockets at two military bases in retaliation for Abdullah’s killing.
The Israeli strike destroyed a house where Abdullah and three other officials were meeting, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the border, late Tuesday.
The Israeli military said its air force "eliminated" Abdullah adding that the attack was part of a strike on a Hezbollah command and control center in the village of Jwaya.
AP video shot by Fadi Tawil and Mahamad Aounti
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