[HIGHLIGHTS] Hezbollah expects an Israeli armed response but is not seeking war, says the organization's second in command

Naim Qassem blamed Israel and the U.S. for perpetuating 'tit-for-tat' attacks that have claimed the lives of hundreds of people in southern Lebanon.

An action by Israel would bring the Middle East closer to a general war in the region than at any other time in recent history. It is estimated that Hezbollah has more than 150,000 rockets and missiles, in addition to drones and anti-tank, anti-aircraft, and anti-ship missiles. The latest round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah began months before last weekend's direct confrontation between Iran and Israel. The conflict began with the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, which killed more than 1,200 people and triggered the bloody Israeli incursion into the Gaza Strip, in which nearly 34,000 people have since been killed, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, which is governed by Hamas. The second in command of the political party and militia is second only to the group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah. Qassem was mildly critical of the three Arab countries – Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates – that collaborated in Israel's defense against the Iranian barrage on Saturday night. "It was not appropriate for any Arab nation to support Israel, no matter what justifications they had," he said. Qassem blamed Israel and the U.S. equally for the civilian losses in Gaza, and dismissed a recent public disagreement between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as little more than cosmetic politics aimed at "safeguarding the image of the United States." "I consider that both Biden and Netanyahu are complicit in the same plan with very small differences,' he said, adding that Iran confirmed his public messages to Hezbollah. "We will not accept that the Israelis transgress the rules of engagement currently established in the south" of Lebanon. "We will not accept that the Israelis transgress the rules of engagement currently established in the south" of Lebanon, he declared, threatening that if the Israelis increase their attacks, we will also increase ours.