Hezbollah warns Israel of war

2008-02-14 16:06

Beirut - Hezbollah's chief on Thursday vowed to retaliate against Israeli targets abroad after accusing Israel of taking the fight beyond Lebanese borders with its assassination of militant commander Imad Mughniyeh in Syria.

"You have killed Hajj Imad outside the natural battlefield," Hassan Nasrallah said, addressing Israel and referring to Hezbollah's long-time contention it only fights Israel within Lebanon and along their common border.

"You have crossed the borders," Nasrallah said in the fiery eulogy at the funeral of Mughniyeh in south Beirut.

"With this murder, its timing, location and method - Zionists, if you want this kind of open war, let the whole world listen: Let this war be open."

"Like all human beings we have a sacred right to defend ourselves," said Nasrallah, speaking in a videotaped message broadcast over a giant screen at the ceremony in a Hezbollah stronghold. "We will do all that takes to defend our country and people."

Nasrallah went into hiding in 2006, fearing an Israeli assassination and making only three appearances since the war that year with Israel.

Mughniyeh was killed in a car bombing in Damascus, Syria, on Tuesday. Hezbollah and its top ally, Iran, have accused Israel of the murder, but the Jewish state denies involvement.

- AP