Hassan Nasrallah
Hassan NasrallahReuters

Hezbollah has not found any evidence tying Israel to the assassination of its military commander Mustafa Badr Al-Din, the group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday.

Speaking at a memorial service for Badr Al-Din and quoted by Haaretz, Nasrallah attributed his death to "terror organizations fighting in Syria," but said that Hezbollah isn't "fully exonerating" Israel.

"We aren't worried or afraid of holding Israel responsible when we have the evidence, and we aren't scared of responding if necessary," the Hezbollah leader said.

In a message to Israel, Nasrallah warned that "if you hurt one of our fighters, we will respond forcefully" and will breach Israeli borders, "regardless of the implications."

Hezbollah has said that “Islamist extremists” killed Badr Al-Din, though it did not name any particular group and there has been no claim of responsibility for the attack.

Badr Al-Din was the highest-ranking Hezbollah member to be killed since the group joined Syria's civil four years ago. He died in an explosion near the airport in Damascus. 

His death followed that of senior Hezbollah terrorist Samir Kuntar, who was killed last December in Syria in an airstrike that was blamed on Israel.

In his comments Friday, Nasrallah vowed that Hezbollah would boost its support for Syria's regime even after the death of Badr Al-Din.

"We will increase and bolster our presence in Syria," he said, according to the AFP news agency.

"More commanders than before will go to Syria. We will be present in different ways and we will continue the fight," he added.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)