Beirut: Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group remains defiant in the face of Israeli raids and airstrikes, saying even more Israelis will be displaced as the militant group expands its rocket fire toward the Jewish state. Hezbollah’s interim leader Naim Qassem said its military capabilities are still intact and that it has replaced all of its senior commanders after weeks of intense Israeli airstrikes on large parts of Lebanon that killed most of its senior commanders. .
He also said Israeli forces have been unable to advance after launching a ground incursion into Lebanon last week. The Israeli military said a fourth division is now participating in the raid, which has expanded westward, but operations still appear to be confined to a narrow strip along the border.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it dismantled militant infrastructure along the border and killed hundreds of Hezbollah fighters. He said an attack in Beirut killed Suhail Husseini, whom he described as a senior commander responsible for overseeing the logistics, budget and management of the militant group. There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah.
Top Hezbollah commanders replaced: Qassem
“We are firing hundreds of rockets and dozens of drones. A large number of settlements and cities are under resistance fire,” Qassem said in a video speech, speaking from an undisclosed location. “Our capabilities are fine and our fighters are deployed on the front lines.”
He said Hezbollah’s top leaders were directing the war and that commanders killed by Israel had been replaced. He also said Hezbollah will name a new leader to succeed Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a bunker in Beirut last month, “but the circumstances are difficult because of the war.”
This comes as Hezbollah is waging a defiant fight against Israel, as the IDF said 85 projectiles were launched from Lebanon into northern Israel on Tuesday in a major burst of fire. Israel’s air defense intercepted most of the rockets, the military said. The IDF also said it struck Hezbollah targets in Beirut’s southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, where the militant group is based.
Hezbollah supports ceasefire efforts
However, Qassem said he supported attempts to secure a truce and, for the first time, did not mention an end to the war in Gaza as a precondition for stopping fighting on the Lebanon-Israel border. Qassem said Hezbollah supported attempts by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, to achieve a cessation of fighting, although it was unclear whether this indicated a change in stance.
“We support the political activity led by Berri under the title of a ceasefire,” Qassem said in his 30-minute televised speech. His televised speech comes 11 days after Nasrallah’s assassination, the most devastating setback Israel has dealt its enemy in decades.
Further adding to Hezbollah’s woes, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said it appeared that Nasrallah’s replacement had been “eliminated.” Hashem Safieddine, a senior Hezbollah official, was widely expected to succeed Nasrallah. Safieddine has not been heard from publicly since an Israeli airstrike late last week.
Iran’s warning to Israel
Regional tensions sparked a year ago by the attack by the Palestinian armed group Hamas on southern Israel have escalated into a series of Israeli ground and air operations over Lebanon and direct Iranian attacks on Israeli military facilities. Iran warned Israel on Tuesday against any attack against the Islamic Republic, a week after Tehran fired a barrage of missiles at the country, putting the Middle East on edge.
Any attack on Iran’s infrastructure will be met with retaliation, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said, warning Israel against attacks on its country. Araqchi will visit Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries starting Tuesday to discuss regional issues and work to stop Israel’s “crimes” in Gaza and Lebanon, Iranian news agency IRNA reported.
Gulf states have sought to assure Iran of their neutrality in the Iran-Israel conflict, sources told Reuters last week. In Lebanon, the Israeli military increased pressure on Iran-backed Hezbollah, saying it was carrying out “limited, localized and targeted operations” in southwestern Lebanon after announcing such operations for the southeastern border area. Israel’s military attacked Beirut’s southern suburbs overnight and said it killed a senior Hezbollah official responsible for the group’s budget and logistics.
(with contributions from agencies)
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