Nasrallah asserts Hezbollah attack was success, reserves right to strike again
The leader of the terror group claims that despite the large-scale attack from Lebanon being largely stopped, it still achieved its objectives. He is waiting to see if results are’satisfactory.’
Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, claimed that a massive attack by his terror group on Israel the night before was “completed as planned” by Israel and had caused a great deal of disruption.
Israel launched a preemptive attack between Saturday and Sunday in which 100 planes destroyed thousands rocket launcher barrels on Lebanese soil shortly before they would be used. They then intercepted the majority of 230 rockets fired by Hezbollah and 20 drones.
Nasrallah said in his speech that the attack caused “great disruptions” within Israel. He said that the attack was carried out in two phases. Firstly, he stated, the terror group launched over 320 Katyusha missiles at 11 different military sites, to keep Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system busy. Then, he added, it launched dozens drones at central Israel.
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He said that the drones’ main targets were the Glilot airbase, located just north of Tel Aviv and housing the IDF 8200 elite intelligence units, adjacent to Mossad HQ, and the Ein Shemer base, near Hadera on the coast, approximately 40 kilometers north of Tel Aviv. He said that Israel refused to acknowledge the fact that drones had reached their targets. “We exceeded our goals and achieved them.”
He said that Hezbollah drones were very close to Tel Aviv because Glilot, a suburb, is located on the coast. He insisted, however, that the operation was only aimed at military targets and not civilians.
Nasrallah denied the IDF’s preemptive strike, saying that its overnight raid was only a sortie and that it didn’t destroy Hezbollah ballistic missiles.
Nasrallah stated that “talk about how [Hezbollah] would launch 8,000 rockets or drones, and that [Israel] foiled this… is false,” adding that “only dozens of rocket launchers were destroyed.”
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that Hezbollah’s attack was “mostly thwarted” and that no bases were damaged. However, a Navy sailor who was on a patrol vessel was killed by shrapnel thrown from an interceptor. The IDF said that the Hezbollah missiles which impacted were a minority and caused some damage to houses, as well as causing a light injury to at least one person.
IDF has also stated that none of these drones had an impact on central Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister, said in a cabinet session that the IDF had intercepted “all the drones Hezbollah fired at strategic targets located in the middle of the country.”
Nasrallah claimed that IDF had concealed the damage done in the attack. He added that Hezbollah will continue to monitor the situation until it is confirmed that the assault was “satisfactory.” If this happens, Hezbollah will consider the retaliation against the assassination its military commander Fuad Shkr completed. Nasrallah stated that Hezbollah “reserves” the right to strike at a future date if it is not satisfied with the outcome of this attack.
Shukr died in a strike by the IDF in Beirut, on 30 July. Three days earlier, a Hezbollah missile had killed 12 Israelis in a Druze village in the Golan Heights. Israel blamed Shukr.
Nasrallah began his speech by explaining why it took so long for the retaliation. He explained that the “mobilization” of the Israeli and US militaries in the area was the reason for the delay. He added that the long wait was intended to punish Israel for keeping it on edge for nearly a month.
Hezbollah also awaited the outcome of the ongoing truce negotiations between Hamas & Israel. But, as Netanyahu “keeps on adding new conditions,” there was no sense in waiting further, he added.
Nasrallah also explained that Hezbollah would need time to determine if Iran and its regional proxy forces — the “axis for Resistance” — would react at the same moment or separately.
He added that Hezbollah had conducted its attack independently from other allies. He added that the Iranian response to the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, blamed by Israel, but not claimed, in Tehran last week, as well as the Houthis’ retaliation against the Israeli bombing on the port of Hodeidah, which took place July 24, has not yet occurred and could take months, but he assured both entities they “consider themselves obligated to respond and will respond.”
Nasrallah said that the retaliatory attacks took place on the Arbaeen (40 in Arabic), a day of special religious significance to Shiites. This date is 40 days after Ashura, the celebration of Husayn Ibn Ali’s martyrdom, the grandson of Muhammad, the Islamic prophet, and third Shia Imam. Hezbollah’s official website Al Manar reports that Nasrallah called Saturday night’s attack “Operation Arbaeen Day”.
Ben Gurion Airport was closed for nearly two hours Sunday morning. Dozens of flights were diverted, delayed or canceled to Tel Aviv and Beirut.
Israel’s officials placed restrictions on educational and gathering activities from Tel Aviv to the north for most of Sunday morning. However, they lifted them at around 1 p.m. when life began to slowly return back to normal after the barrage was largely defeated.
Hezbollah has announced that two operatives of the group were killed during fighting on Sunday. This brings the total death toll for the terror groups in the current conflict against Israel to 430. Daniel Hagari, the spokesman for Hezbollah, said on Sunday night that six operatives were killed.
Separately the Amal group which is affiliated with Hezbollah said that one of their fighters was fatally wounded in an attack on a vehicle.
After 10 months of low level cross-border firing that brought both sides to the brink, the heavy exchange of gunfire came after weeks of intense diplomacy aimed at preventing Hezbollah from escalating the conflict with its promised response to Shukr’s murder.
Hezbollah started firing rockets at Israel in October to support Hamas after the Gaza terror group invaded and massacred southern Israel on October 7, which led to an Israeli military offensive in the Palestinian enclave. Other Iranian proxy groups also attacked Israel to support Hamas.
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