Nasrallah accuses Israel of causing an “unprecedented massacre” and says Lebanon is “preparing for the worst”

He says Hezbollah will “not stop” until victory in Gaza and says civilians evacuated from northern Israel will not return to their homes

The leader of the Lebanese Shiite militia party Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, has accused Israel of causing an “unprecedented massacre” by blowing up hundreds of communication devices in recent days – which have left at least 37 dead and almost 3,000 wounded – and has assured that Lebanon “is becoming stronger” after what happened and “is preparing for the worst.”

Hezbollah’s top official gave a speech on Thursday in which he insisted that Israel was responsible for what happened in recent days, despite the fact that the Israeli authorities have not commented on the matter, and accused them of “breaking all the rules” and “crossing all the ‘red lines’.”

Nasrallah stressed that the communication devices – both pagers and walkie-talkies – were not only in the possession of Hezbollah members, but that they are devices “widespread in different layers of society.” The explosions surprised civilians who were in hospitals, markets or on public roads, he said.

“In the space of two days and in just one minute each time, Israel attempted to kill more than 5,000 people,” Nasrallah said, adding that Hezbollah has launched investigations to determine responsibility and to determine which manufacturing, transport, processing or distribution companies were involved in placing the explosive material that detonated the devices.

“Yes, we have received a hard and severe blow,” the Hezbollah leader admitted, but stressed that the Lebanese population “will not fall” but will become “stronger and prepare for the worst.” These words come at a time when the Israeli army has launched attacks on Lebanon and the military authorities have approved the plan to attack the neighbouring country.

The leader of the Lebanese militia acknowledged that the blow suffered is “significant and unprecedented,” but stressed that Israel will receive “severe reprisals and just punishments” both in positions that expect to be attacked, as well as in other points where the Israeli authorities do not suspect possible attacks by Hezbollah. “The punishment will come. When, where, how? You will know when the time comes,” he said.

HEZBOLLAH “WILL NOT STOP UNTIL THE END OF THE WAR IN GAZA”

The attacks between Israel and Hezbollah across the border with Lebanon began shortly after the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) launched its offensive on Israeli territory – which left almost 1,200 dead and 240 hostages – and the subsequent response of the Israeli Army, which began a bloody military campaign in the Gaza Strip with at least 41,200 dead.

Hezbollah, along with other Islamic groups in the region supported by Iran, has launched attacks against Israel in solidarity with the Palestinian population. The explosion of communication devices in Lebanon is part of the tensions between the two countries at a time when the Israeli army has said it is entering a “new phase” of the war in the north.

In fact, Nasrallah has sent a direct message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who the day before had assured that he would ensure that Israeli civilians evacuated from the northern border with Lebanon due to Hezbollah attacks would return to their homes soon. “You will not succeed in bringing the citizens of the north back home,” the leader of the Lebanese militia replied.

“Do whatever you want, you will not succeed. The only solution is to stop the aggression against the people of Gaza. Neither military escalation, nor murder, nor even an all-out war will bring your settlers and residents back to the border. You know that,” Nasrallah said in a statement directed at Netanyahu.

At this point, Nasrallah called the commander of the troops in northern Israel an “imbecile” for his statements about his intention to create a “security zone” between the two countries. “If they plan to build a security belt around the resistance and limit the fighting to this zone, their military centers will be attacked in the north of occupied Palestine,” he warned.

“From day one, the enemy has tried to stop the Lebanese support front using all means of intimidation,” said Nasrallah, who regretted that “attempts to separate the Lebanese front” are “recurrent” but will not have any effect on Hezbollah, which “will not stop until the end of the war in Gaza.”

“We have been saying this for almost twelve months. Despite all these massacres, these injuries, these sacrifices, I say it: whatever the obstacles and sacrifices, the resistance in Lebanon will not stop supporting Gaza, the West Bank and Palestine,” said the leader of the Lebanese militia, who says that his cause “is strengthened” by the latest events.

On Tuesday, hundreds of pager devices exploded, killing at least 12 people and injuring 2,800 people. The next day, walkie-talkies exploded, killing 25 people and injuring hundreds more. Nasrallah has sent a message of support to the families of all of them and wished the injured a speedy recovery.