According to Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah, the group will retaliate and is unflinching in its struggle against Israel in support of the Palestinians in Gaza, citing that this week’s pager and walkie-talkie strikes against its fighters in Lebanon and Syria violated “all red lines.”
At least 37 people were killed in the two days of the extraordinary attacks, which Nasrallah described as a “big blow in terms of security and humanity” in his first appearance on television on Thursday. Despite this, Nasrallah said that the bombings had not brought the group to its knees.
More than 2,900 people were injured in the explosions, which the Iran-backed group blames on Israel; 287 of them are critically injured. The explosions have increased concerns that the nearly daily gunfire between Israel and Hezbollah, which has been going on for 11 months, will turn into a full-scale conflict. Israel has not yet acknowledged responsibility for the explosions or offered any comments, in line with numerous other attacks.
You Israeli officials have increased their threats in recent weeks of launching a bigger military operation against Hezbollah, claiming they are committed to putting an end to the organization’s activities so that tens of thousands of Israelis can return to their homes close to the border with Lebanon.
Nasrallah referred to Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s simultaneous blasts as a “terrorist act” and a “declaration of war” against the people of Lebanon and the nation’s sovereignty while Israeli jets performed sonic booms above the country during his speech.