Hezbollah's acting leader Sheikh Naim Qassim has threatened that more Israeli civilians will be displaced because his group is firing rockets targeting Israeli hinterland. Qasim issued a statement on television on Tuesday. Qasim has given this statement at a time when today one year has been completed in the attacks being carried out by Hezbollah targeting Israel. Hezbollah started firing rockets into northern Israel on October 8, 2023.
Qassim said his group's military capabilities were still intact and it had replaced its senior commanders with new commanders following weeks of Israeli air strikes on large parts of Lebanon. Most of the members of Lebanon's top command were killed in these Israeli attacks.
He also said that Israeli forces have not been able to advance after launching a ground campaign in Lebanon last week. The Israeli army said a fourth division was now taking part in the ground operation, which has spread to the west. However, the operation still seems to be limited to a narrow strip along the border.
The Israeli army says it has destroyed terrorist structures along the border and killed hundreds of Hezbollah fighters. On Tuesday it said Suhail Husseini was killed in an attack in Beirut. The Israeli military described Husseini as a senior commander overseeing the logistics, budget and management of the Hezbollah group.
There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah, and there was no way to independently verify claims made by either side about the war.
Qasim said in a video address, 'We are firing hundreds of rockets and dozens of drones. A large number of settlements and cities are the targets of our retaliatory action. Our capabilities are strong and our fighters are deployed on the front lines.
He said that the top leadership of Hezbollah is deciding the war strategy and the commanders who were killed in the Israeli attack have been replaced by new commanders. “We do not have any vacancy here,” he said.
He said Hezbollah would name a new leader to replace Hassan Nasrallah, “although the circumstances are difficult because of the war.” Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike on an underground base in Beirut last month. The Israeli military said 85 missiles were fired from Lebanon toward northern Israel on Tuesday.
The Israeli military said that Israeli air defenses destroyed most of the rockets. A 70-year-old woman was slightly injured by shrapnel, and Israeli media broadcast footage of minor damage to buildings near the coastal city of Haifa. The Israeli military also said it struck Hezbollah targets in the southern Beirut suburbs, known as Dahiyah, where the group is headquartered.
Hezbollah started firing rockets into northern Israel on October 8, 2023. A day before that, Hamas's surprise attack from Gaza into Israel had sparked the war. Both Hezbollah and Hamas are allies of Iran and Hezbollah says its attacks are aimed at helping Palestinians.
The Lebanese militant group has said it will halt attacks if a ceasefire is held in Gaza, but months of diplomatic efforts on that front have been repeatedly blocked.
Israel has launched several strikes against Hezbollah in recent weeks and has said it will continue fighting until thousands of displaced Israeli civilians return to their homes in the north. More than 1,300 people have been killed and more than 1 million Lebanese have been displaced in Lebanon since the fighting began in mid-September.
Since then, Hezbollah has been targeting central Israel with rockets, setting off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv, the country's commercial hub.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have also fired missiles that have reached central Israel. Most of the missiles were shot down in the air or fell in open areas. Although it has disrupted life in Israel, there have been few casualties and little damage to property.
Last week, Iran fired about 180 ballistic missiles at Israel, which it said was in retaliation for the killing of Nasrallah.
Israel has vowed to respond to the missile attack, without specifying when or how. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant is in Washington this week to meet his US counterpart Lloyd Austin.
The US Biden administration says it is against Israeli attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities, which could further increase regional tensions.
