Hezbollah’s Nasrallah says Israel’s attacks in Lebanon crossed ‘all red lines’ | News about the Israel-Palestine conflict

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah says pager and walkie-talkie attacks against his members in Lebanon and Syria this week crossed “all red lines” and that the group will retaliate and not be intimidated in its fight against Israel in support of Palestinians in Gaza.

In his first televised address since the unprecedented attacks, which lasted two days and killed at least 37 people, Nasrallah on Thursday called them a “big blow in terms of security and humanity” but said they had failed to bring the group to its knees.

The blasts, which the Iran-backed group blames on Israel, injured more than 2,900 people, of whom 287 are in critical condition, and have raised fears that 11 months of near-daily exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israel could escalate into all-out war.

Following in the wake of many previous attacks, Israel has yet to admit responsibility or comment on the blasts.

In recent weeks, Israeli leaders have stepped up warnings of a possible major military operation against Hezbollah, saying they are determined to stop the group’s fire to allow tens of thousands of Israelis to return to their homes near the Lebanese border.

As Israeli planes carried out sonic booms over Lebanon during his speech, Nasrallah called the simultaneous explosions on Tuesday and Wednesday a “terrorist act” and a “declaration of war” against the Lebanese people and the country’s sovereignty.

He admitted that the attacks were “unprecedented in the history of the resistance movement in Lebanon” as well as “in the history of our country” and “of our enemy.”

But Nasrallah said Hezbollah would continue to support Palestinians in Gaza “no matter what the consequences, no matter what the sacrifices, no matter what scenarios will unfold.”

“From October 8 until now, Israeli forces have not withdrawn any of their military personnel from the north,” the Hezbollah leader said in the speech, warning that Israelis who have been evacuated from the area will not be allowed to return.

He said the devices exploded inside hospitals, markets, homes and several areas where civilians were present and that Israel had “intentionally” targeted 4,000 pagers and 1,000 walkie-talkies with the aim of killing as many people as possible.

He added that some of the attacks occurred in hospitals, pharmacies, markets, commercial premises and even homes, private vehicles and on public roads where thousands of civilians, including women and children, are located.

Nasrallah also stressed that the attacks were partially thwarted because “many devices were out of service, turned off (or) stored away.”

He added that the incident did not affect the group’s command, control or infrastructure.

“I assure you that our infrastructure has not been touched,” he said.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in a mostly low-level conflict since Israel launched an attack on Gaza on Oct. 7 that has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians.

In late July, Israel killed Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran almost simultaneously, sparking fears of an escalation.

Marwan Bishara, a senior political analyst at Al Jazeera, said there would likely be further escalation in the coming days or weeks as Hezbollah responds to the attacks.

“He is down, but he is defiant,” Bishara added, referring to the Hezbollah leader. “But it is a heavy blow to Hezbollah. There is no doubt about that.”

Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem, reporting from Lebanon, said there was ultimately “nothing revealing” about how Hezbollah might respond to the attacks.

“After Nasrallah’s speech, we don’t know what will really happen,” he said.

“But at the same time, there was something ambiguous when he talked about keeping accountability or retaliation within a very narrow circle. I think he was talking about the investigation within the organization, within Hezbollah.”

Analyst Sultan Barakat noted that Nasrallah gave no clear indication of how the group would retaliate.

“We have a response from him that he will definitely return, but without saying when or how,” Barakat, a professor of public policy at Qatar’s Hamad Bin Khalifa University, told Al Jazeera, adding that the speech was aimed at presenting a “partial victory” for Hezbollah.

Meanwhile, two Israeli soldiers were killed and several wounded in Hezbollah attacks in northern Israel on Thursday.

The Israeli military also announced new strikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon “to degrade Hezbollah’s terrorist capabilities and infrastructure,” adding in a statement that it was part of efforts to return displaced Israelis to their homes in the north.