Hezbollah’s acting leader, Sheikh Naim Kassem, declared Tuesday that the militant group will extend its rocket fire deeper into Israel, potentially displacing more Israelis, in a defiant televised address marking the escalation of hostilities into full-scale war last month.
Speaking from an undisclosed location, Kassem asserted that Hezbollah’s military capabilities remain intact despite weeks of heavy Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon. “We are firing hundreds of rockets and dozens of drones. A large number of settlements and cities are under the fire of the resistance,” Kassem said.
The acting leader claimed that Hezbollah has successfully replaced all senior commanders killed in recent Israeli strikes, stating, “We have no vacant posts.” He added that the group will name a successor to Hassan Nasrallah, killed last month in an Israeli airstrike on a Beirut bunker, but noted that “circumstances are difficult because of the war.”
Israel’s military reported intercepting 85 projectiles launched from Lebanon on Tuesday, with one 70-year-old woman moderately wounded by shrapnel near Haifa. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) also claimed to have struck Hezbollah targets in southern Beirut suburbs and killed Suhail Husseini, described as a senior commander overseeing logistics and management.
“Hezbollah’s claims of intact capabilities contrast sharply with Israel’s reports of significant damage to the group’s infrastructure,” said Dr. Emile Hokayem, Middle East security expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “This rhetoric escalation raises concerns about potential further intensification of the conflict.”
The IDF confirmed that a fourth division has joined the ground incursion into Lebanon, which has expanded westward but remains confined to a narrow border strip. Israel claims to have dismantled militant infrastructure and killed hundreds of Hezbollah fighters, though these assertions cannot be independently verified.
Hezbollah initiated rocket attacks on northern Israel on October 8, 2023, following Hamas’ surprise assault on Israel the previous day. The group has linked a cessation of attacks to a ceasefire in Gaza, but diplomatic efforts have repeatedly stalled.
AP
