“We have not sought escalations until now, we have been fighting in support of Gaza but keeping in mind the Lebanese national interest. Every time one of our commanders was killed, our response was heightened but always measured. But an assassination of a top leader in the Dahia [Hezbollah’s stronghold in southern Beirut] must be treated differently. Our response is coming, God willing, from us and the axis of resistance — and it will be strong.”Emanuel Fabian, Times of Israel staff, Gianluca Pacchiani, and agencies, “Israeli jets set off sonic booms in Beirut as Nasrallah threatens ‘strong’ reprisal,” Times of Israel, August 6, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-jets-set-off-sonic-booms-in-beirut-as-nasrallah-threatens-strong-reprisal/.

Following the July 30 assassination of Hezbollah commander Fu’ad Shukr:

“You will laugh a little and cry a lot, as you do not know which red lines you have crossed.”Don Jacobson, “Hezbollah leader vows retaliation against Israel at funeral of slain commander,” United Press International, August 1, 2024, https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2024/08/01/lebanon-Hezbollah-leader-vows-retaliation-against-Israel-funeral-slain-commander/8231722547751/.

After the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in an alleged Israeli assassination:

“We see avenging his blood our duty.”Farnaz Fassihi, “Iran’s Leader Orders Attack on Israel for Haniyeh Killing, Officials Say,” New York Times, July 31, 2024, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/31/world/middleeast/iran-orders-attack-israel.html.

Televised statement after an Israeli strike on Houthi targets in Hodeidah’s port in response to a July 19 Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv:

“We will respond to this blatant Israeli aggression and will not hesitate to strike the enemy’s vital targets. We have prepared, with the help of God Almighty, for a long war with this enemy until the aggression stops and the siege on the Palestinian people is lifted.” Kareem Fahim, Alon Rom, Steve Hendrix, and Mohamad El Chamaa, “Israel strikes Yemen port after Houthis claim drone attack in Tel Aviv,” Washington Post, July 20, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/07/20/israel-yemen-hodeida-drone-tel-aviv/.

“We, in the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), commend the exceptional military operation carried out by the Yemeni armed forces and the brothers Ansar Allah [movement], which targeted the heart of Tel Aviv, the center of the Zionist entity using the combat drone (Yafa). This heroic operation marks the beginning of a phase in targeting the depth of the fascist Zionist entity and its internal front in response to the ongoing brutal aggression on our defenseless Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and in support of the Palestinian resistance.

“While we hail the positions of the brothers in Ansar Allah in Yemen, Hezbollah, the Jamaa Islamiya in Lebanon, and the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, we call upon all the forces and elements of our Ummah [Islamic nation] to unite and join the battle of honor and dignity, and strike the fascist occupying regime in support of the Palestinian people in Gaza, and in defense of the holy sites desecrated by the fascist settlers, most notably the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.”“Press Statement,” Hamas - Online English Telegram Channel, July 19, 2024.

“If your tanks come to Lebanon … you will have no tanks left.”“Hezbollah threatens to fire on new Israeli targets,” Al Jazeera, July 17, 2024, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/7/17/hezbollah-threatens-to-fire-on-new-israeli-targets.

“The enemy knows that no place in the entire (state) is safe from our missiles, and it won’t be arbitrary. Everything will be deliberately targeted. We have long hours of footage of Haifa, of the outskirts of Haifa, and what comes after Haifa, and after after Haifa.” Tamara Qiblawi, Mostafa Salem, Paul P. Murphy, Ben Wedeman, Gianluca Mezzofiore, Oren Liebermann, Michael Rios, Tamar Michaelis, and Andrew Raine, “Hezbollah leader threatens Cyprus as tensions with Israel ramp up,” CNN, June 20, 2024, https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/18/middleeast/hezbollah-drone-video-israel-haifa-intl-latam/index.html.

“The enemy knows well that we have prepared ourselves for the most difficult days. The enemy knows well what awaits it, and that’s why it has been deterred so far. And it knows that there will be no place in the [country] that would be spared our rockets and drones. And it won’t be indiscriminate bombing: every rocket – a target.”“Hezbollah chief Nasrallah says Israel should be ‘scared’ of all-out war,” Al Jazeera, June 19, 2024, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/19/hezbollah-chief-nasrallah-says-israel-should-be-scared-of-all-out-war.

In response to a Human Rights Watch report that concluded Hamas carried out crimes against humanity during its October 7 attack on Israel:

“We reject the lies and blatant bias towards the occupation and the lack of professionalism and credibility in the Human Rights Watch report

“We demand its withdrawal and an apology

“After 285 days of continuous Zionist crimes against our Palestinian people in Gaza, the likes of which modern history has not witnessed, and after the Zionist entity has become labeled by the international community and its courts as a terrorist committing genocide, the Human Rights Watch report comes to echo the lies told by the occupying army. Note that the Zionists and their media in the beginning of this genocide had started to justify their crimes against our people and tried to get international support, but they retracted their statements after being exposed and demonstrating their false narrative.

“The Human Rights Watch report adopted the entire Israeli false narrative and moved away from the scientific, research-based methodology and did not adopt a neutral, legal position and hence became more like an Israeli propaganda document.”“Press Release,” Hamas - Online English Telegram Channel, July 17, 2024.

Part four of essay entitled “This is Gaza, A War of Existence, Not A War of Borders”:

“Taking [people] as prisoners was not and will not be a deterrent weapon. The Jews destroyed everything, knowing that the Muslims would not cause any harm to the prisoners because Islam urges them not to. However, Islam also tells us that killing takes precedence over taking prisoners.”“Assessing Hamas's October 7 Attack, Al-Qaeda Essay By Sayf Al-'Adl: Killing Civilians More Beneficial Than Taking Them As Prisoners,” Middle East Media Research Institute, July 17, 2024, https://www.memri.org/reports/assessing-hamass-october-7-attack-al-qaeda-essay-sayf-al-adl-killing-civilians-more.