Former bodyguard of Hezbollah's Sayyed Nasrallah assassinated in Israeli raid

Shafaq News/ On Tuesday, The Lebanese Hezbollah announced that leader Yasser Nimr Qarnabsh, a former bodyguard of Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, was assassinated in an Israeli raid that targeted his car on the Damascus-Beirut International Road in the Jdeidet Yabous area, in the Damascus countryside.

"The Islamic Resistance mourns on the Road to Al-Quds, the Mujahid, Yasser Nimr Qarnabsh (Amin,) born in 1970 from Zawtar El-Sharqiyeh," Hezbollah's military media stated.

Tensions are still rising between Israel and Hezbollah, which possesses an arsenal of up to 100,000 missiles, including those capable of reaching Tel Aviv, as stated by Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Nasrallah.

"In support for the Palestinian people," Hezbollah's Islamic Resistance fighters targeted on Tuesday afternoon Al-Marj site with artillery shells, hitting it directly, while Israel killed one of its fighters, Ali Hussein Weizani, from the town of Shaqra in southern Lebanon.

Since October 7, Iran-backed Hezbollah has expressed strong support for Palestinian resistance factions in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, in their conflict against Israel that has called over 38,000 Palestinian deaths and approximately 80,000 injuries.

On October 8, Hezbollah announced the opening of what it called "a back front" to support Hamas and distract the Israeli army from its aggression against Gaza. Hezbollah has confirmed that this support will continue until a ceasefire is achieved in the Strip. This decision has sparked mixed reactions within Lebanon.

Some Lebanese, primarily from Christian political parties, criticize Hezbollah for potentially dragging Lebanon into an avoidable "war of attrition" and drawing Israeli attacks onto Lebanese territory. They argue that Hezbollah's actions risk escalating the conflict within Lebanon's borders.

Conversely, other Lebanese groups view Hezbollah as a grassroots resistance organization that liberated southern Lebanon from an 18-year Israeli occupation in 2000. They believe Hezbollah has a humanitarian duty to support Palestinians in Gaza.

Hezbollah has consistently affirmed that it does not seek war but is prepared for one if necessary.