Hezbollah's deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Kassem, listens to a speech by then-leader Hassan Nasrallah on a screen in southern Beirut, June 19, 2024
HEZBOLLAH’S acting leader said today that even more Israelis will be displaced as its fighters extend its rocket fire deeper into Israel.
The warning came during a defiant televised statement by Sheikh Naim Kassem marking the anniversary of fighting that escalated into war last month.
Mr Kassem said that its military capabilities are still intact and that it has replaced all of its senior commanders after weeks of heavy Israeli bombing across large parts of Lebanon, including targeted strikes that killed much of its top command in a matter of days, alongside hundreds of bystanders.
He also said that Israeli forces have not been able to advance after launching a ground invasion into Lebanon last week. The Israeli military said a fourth division is now taking part in the invasion, which has expanded to the west, but operations still appear to be confined to a narrow strip along the border.
The Israeli military claims to have dismantled Hezbollah infrastructure along the border and killed hundreds of its fighters.
On Tuesday, it said a strike in Beirut had killed Suhail Husseini, who it described as a senior commander responsible for overseeing the logistics, budget and management of Hezbollah.
There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah.
In a video address from an undisclosed location, Mr Kassem said: “We are firing hundreds of rockets and dozens of drones. A large number of settlements and cities are under the fire of the resistance.
“Our capabilities are fine and our fighters are deployed along the front lines.”
He said that Hezbollah’s top leadership was directing the war and that the commanders killed by Israel have been replaced.
“We have no vacant posts,” he said.
He also said that Hezbollah will name a new leader to succeed Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli air strike in a bunker in Beirut last month, “but the circumstances are difficult because of the war.”
The Israeli army said that 85 projectiles were launched from Lebanon toward northern Israel on Tuesday.
Footage circulating on social media appeared to show a number of these missiles evading the “iron dome” defence system and hitting targets near the coastal city of Haifa.
The only casualty reported by the Israelis was a woman wounded by shrapnel.
Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel on October 8, 2023, the day after Hamas’s surprise attack into Israel.
Hezbollah says its attacks are aimed at aiding the Palestinians and will stop if there is a ceasefire in Gaza.
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