Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's secretary-general, accused Israel of “crossing all red lines” in a televised speech broadcast Thursday and called the wave of explosions on the militia's communications devices “a declaration of war by a part of Israel.”
At least 37 people have died in just two days in a complex intelligence operation attributed to Israel, although Tel Aviv has not commented explicitly on the attack. However, Israeli authorities have announced the start of a “New phase” of the war in Lebanon. As Nasrallah delivers his speech, Israeli warplanes fly over the capital, breaking the sound barrier.
“We have received a heavy blow, but this is a state of war and we know that the enemy has technological superiority, especially thanks to the support of the United States and the West,” said Nasrallah, who however assured that this attack was not a defeat and promised that the attacks against Israel would continue.
Nasrallah acknowledged that the operation that blew up thousands of Hezbollah communications devices was a blow “unprecedented in the history of the resistance.” “It made us more determined, more robust and more inflexible,” he added.
“Our front was effective and we put strong pressure on the enemy. The proof is what the enemy does and says,” the militia leader said. On Thursday, the Israeli defense chief approved military plans for the front with Lebanon, and Haaretz newspaper reports that the security establishment has already presented the implications of a military escalation to the government and is awaiting political decisions.
The militia leader says the group's leaders do not carry the remote-controlled devices and assured that Hezbollah's infrastructure is “intact.”
Netanyahu promised Wednesday that he would repatriate to their homes Israeli citizens displaced from the north of the country by the Hezbollah threat, but Nasrallah said he would not allow it, vowing further attacks in the region.