The new leader of Hezbollah, Naïm Kassem, displayed on Wednesday his determination to continue the fight against Israel and strike it on its soil, despite the blows inflicted on his movement by the Israeli army after more than a month of open war. During his second speech after his official succession to Hassan Nasrallah, Naïm Kassem assured that he had tens of thousands of fighters ready to confront the army of the Hebrew State and warned that no place in Israel was at risk. shelter from the missiles and drones of its formation.
“We have tens of thousands of trained resistance fighters who can confront and hold their ground” against Israel, assured Sheikh Kassem, in this speech marking 40 days since the assassination of Nasrallah.
The Israeli army has been carrying out a campaign of intensive strikes against Lebanon since September 23, targeting in particular Hezbollah strongholds, and launched a ground offensive on September 30. Hezbollah ensures that its men repel Israeli incursions in the border areas and announces daily launching rockets, missiles and drones on Israeli territory.
“Israel will cry out (in pain) under the missiles and drones, no place in the Israeli entity is inaccessible to our drones and missiles,” warned the head of the formation of which Israel has killed several officials.
A few hours earlier, Hezbollah claimed to have targeted – among other operations – a military base near Ben Gurion Airport, located south of Tel Aviv. Traffic was not affected, nor were the runways damaged, according to the Israel Airports Authority. Around 120 projectiles fired Wednesday by Hezbollah from Lebanon crossed the border into Israeli territory, the Israeli army announced without saying how many had landed in the country or how many had been intercepted.
“War of attrition”
The Hezbollah leader also affirmed that his party was “ready” in case Israel “banks on a war of attrition”. “Whatever happens over time, we will remain firm… we will face you,” he added.
He also affirmed that he was not banking on the outcome of the elections in the United States, which is conducting mediation with the aim of a ceasefire, to achieve an end to the fighting. “We are not banking on the American elections. Whether Harris or Trump wins, that has no value for us,” declared Naïm Kassem in this speech recorded before the announcement of the Republican candidate’s victory. He added that the basis of any indirect negotiation with Israel, through the Lebanese state and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berry, is to “fully protect Lebanese sovereignty, without concessions,” insisting that “the vocabulary of resistance knows only dignity and victory.” He continued: “The only option for resistance is to prevent the occupation from achieving its objectives. We will ensure that the Israelis themselves end up demanding an end to the aggression. » According to him, “Israeli forces have assets, including their destructive capacity, their air power and their brutal attitude, but the strength of the resistance lies in its persistence”. “We expected this war, that’s why we prepared for it and are in a defensive position,” said Naïm Kassem. In addition, the head of the Shiite formation called on the Lebanese army to clarify the circumstances of the Israeli “violation” in the coastal town of Batroun, where Israel announced on Saturday that a naval commando had kidnapped a Hezbollah “agent” . “For the Israelis to enter in this way is a great insult to Lebanon and a violation of its sovereignty. Let us ask UNIFIL, in particular the Germans, what they saw that night and what they did,” he said, calling on the Lebanese army to explain the reasons for this that happened and to clarify the role of the UN force in this context. Since 2021, Germany has assumed command of the naval force of UNIFIL, the UN force deployed in Lebanon. This force is responsible for supporting the Lebanese navy in monitoring its territorial waters. The preliminary investigation into the kidnapping indicates that the Israeli army used a boat capable of disrupting UNIFIL radars, a judicial source told AFP.
New strikes on the southern suburbs, the Bekaa under fire
Shortly after the broadcast of Naïm Kassem’s pre-recorded speech, the Israeli army carried out several strikes, after an evacuation order, on the southern suburbs of Beirut, where it had killed his predecessor Hassan Nasrallah on September 27. Nine in number and targeting six neighborhoods, the strikes were heard in the capital, while columns of black smoke rose from the affected areas. The Arabic-speaking spokesperson for the Israeli army Avichay Adraee subsequently reported on X a series of strikes on “Hezbollah targets in the southern suburbs of Beirut”, including “headquarters”, “depots weapons” and other “military structures”. The released map shows the six points cited earlier in the warnings issued by the spokesperson. According to the information that circulated and the sounds of explosions heard, the Israeli army carried out around eight strikes, all powerful. A count that we are not yet able to confirm with accuracy.
Violent strikes also targeted the town of Baalbeck and its surroundings in the Bekaa, without being preceded by evacuation orders from the Israeli army, according to an AFP correspondent in the thousand-year-old town. These strikes threatened key locations in the city, according to our information and statements from the governor of Baalbeck-Hermel, Bachir Khodr. On his X account, Mr. Khodr claimed that a “missile fell in the parking lot” of the Roman temple of Baalbeck. “It has not yet been possible to inspect the interior of the temple to check if there is any damage,” he stressed, however. “We do not yet know if there is any damage,” a source from the General Directorate of Antiquities (DGA) confirmed to the OLJ. Mr. Khodr also reported “significant damage in the historic district of Manchiyé”. In addition, according to our correspondent Sarah Abdallah, an Israeli raid targeted an ancient building between the Shiite shrine of Sayeda Khaoula and the Palmyra hotel, in the heart of downtown Baalbeck. This hotel is located directly opposite the archaeological and historical site, which is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. During the day, strikes targeted several localities, including those of Makné and Younine, north of Baalbeck, as well as the locality of al-Ain where eight members of the same family were killed, according to our correspondent. Israeli aircraft also bombed the Chiqane district of Baalbeck, the town of Taraya and the Baalbeck souk, al-Nasr square. In total, these forty strikes on the Bekaa left at least 55 dead in a single day, according to a report based on official information from the various health centers. In the south of the country, Israeli strikes also targeted the town of Nabatiyé, the evacuation of which it had ordered, according to the National Information Agency.
According to the latest assessment of the war between Hezbollah and Israel, the Ministry of Health counts 3,050 killed and 13,658 injured in Lebanon.
The new leader of Hezbollah, Naïm Kassem, displayed on Wednesday his determination to continue the fight against Israel and strike it on its soil, despite the blows inflicted on his movement by the Israeli army after more than a month of open war. During his second speech after his official succession to Hassan Nasrallah, Naïm Kassem assured that he had dozens…
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