Berri stresses Lebanon's 'legitimate right' to defend itself

Lebanon has the right to defend itself against Israel, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said Monday, a few minutes after the Lebanese Red Cross said it has transferred a dead body from the Arqoub region, rising the death toll in Lebanon to 33.

The Red Cross transferred four injured fighters and one dead body from the border town of Kfarhamam in the Arqoub region to the Marjaayoun Governmental Hospital.

26 of Hezbollah militants and 2 members of the Resistance brigades have been announced killed so far since Hamas' Oct. 7 rampage in southern Israel. At least six militants from Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and at least four civilians have also been killed in the near-daily hostilities, including Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah.

"Lebanon abides by international legitimacy and it is practicing its legitimate right to defend itself in the face of the Israeli aggression," Berri told Brazilian ambassador Tarcísio Costa.

Israeli soldiers and Hezbollah fighters have traded fire across the border since Israel's war with the Palestinian group Hamas began, but the launches so far have targeted limited areas.

On a relatively calm Monday, the Israeli army said it intercepted a drone launched from Lebanon toward Israel, and which triggered sirens in northern Israel.

Hezbollah has vowed to escalate if Israel begins a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip and Israel said it would aggressively retaliate.