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Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said the group is prepared for a long confrontation as cross-border attacks intensify.
Key Developments
- Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said the group is prepared for a long confrontation with Israel.
- Qassem said Israel “does not have the ability to achieve its goals.”
- Hezbollah confirmed a series of rocket and drone attacks targeting Israeli settlements and military sites.
- Israeli media reported preparations for a large-scale ground operation inside Lebanon.
- Iran’s Revolutionary Guard announced the 45th wave of Operation True Promise 4 in coordination with Hezbollah.
Ready for a Long War
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said on Friday that the group is prepared for a prolonged confrontation with Israel.
Speaking during a televised address marking International Quds Day, Qassem said Hezbollah had prepared itself for a long battle and warned that Israel would face unexpected developments on the battlefield. He said the group had learned lessons from previous confrontations.
Qassem also argued that Israel lacks clear military objectives in the current war.
“We found that the conditions have become suitable for us to confront the enemy in order to weaken its position and drag it into a better agreement,” he said.
He added that “the Israeli enemy does not have the ability to achieve its goals.”
‘Battle of Resistance’
Qassem described the current conflict as a defensive war. He said Hezbollah’s operations are part of a resistance campaign against Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
“The battle that Hezbollah is waging is a battle of resistance against Israeli aggression on Lebanon,” he said.
Qassem also stressed that the confrontation is fundamentally a Lebanese struggle based on self-defense. He said the war is “a legitimate defense battle to confront the American-Israeli aggression against Lebanon.”
According to Qassem, Lebanon has faced continuous Israeli attacks for more than a year. He said “there is no solution to the aggression except resistance, otherwise Lebanon will be destroyed.”
Qassem also criticized diplomatic efforts to end the fighting. He argued that political initiatives had failed to halt the violence and called on the Lebanese government to stop what he described as “gratuitous concessions.”
New Operations
Since the launch of the military operation ‘Eaten Straw’, the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah has intensified its attacks on Israeli military positions and settlements.
According to Hezbollah statements, fighters targeted Kiryat Shmona with a swarm of attack drones on Friday. The settlement of Nahariya was also targeted with a barrage of rockets.
Resistance fighters later launched missile attacks against several locations in northern Israel, including the Meron air operations monitoring base, the Even Menachem settlement, and the Kabri settlement. Another missile barrage reportedly targeted the Geva drone control base east of Safed.
Hezbollah also launched three rocket attacks against Israeli troop concentrations in the border settlement of Metula, according to its statement.
Hezbollah said it also carried out attacks against Israeli occupation forces operating inside south Lebanon. Fighters reportedly targeted Israeli troops near the Khiam detention center using rocket barrages.
The group also said it attacked the newly established Balat military site.
Additional rocket attacks targeted Israeli troop gatherings in the southern neighborhood of Khiam, the Tell al-Hamams site, Khallat al-Asafir, and the Marj site opposite Markaba. Another attack targeted the Kfar Jaladi quarry.
Coordinated Attacks
Meanwhile, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced in a statement on Friday the launch of the 45th wave of Operation True Promise 4, stating that the latest attacks were coordinated with Hezbollah.
According to the IRGC, the operation was carried out jointly by the naval forces of the Revolutionary Guard and drone units from the Iranian army, the Guard and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Hezbollah began launching attacks on Israeli positions on March 2, saying the operations were a response to Israeli raids and assassinations. Palestine Chronicle
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