26 Aug 2024

Hezbollah chief says attack on Israel went as planned, further strikes possible

5:57 am on 26 August 2024
An image grab taken from Hezbollah's al-Manar TV on August 25, 2024, shows Lebanon's Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah giving a televised address from an undisclosed location. Nasrallah said his group's attack on Israel targeted the Glilot base near Tel Aviv, after Israel said it had thwarted a large-scale Hezbollah attack, and launched air strikes on Lebanon. (Photo by Al-Manar / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / HO / AL-MANAR" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

An image grab taken from Hezbollah's al-Manar TV on August 25, 2024, shows Lebanon's Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah giving a televised address from an undisclosed location. Photo: AFP / Al-Manar

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Sunday that his group would assess the impact of its rocket and drone attack on Israeli military targets earlier in the day before determining whether it would carry out further attacks to avenge a slain commander.

The leader of the Lebanese armed group said in a televised address that it had been able to carry out its attack "as planned," denying statements by the Israeli military that its pre-emptive strikes had stopped a wider attack by the group.

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Nasrallah, speaking about 12 hours after the most intense exchange of fire between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel since hostilities broke out in parallel with the war in Gaza, said the group had intentionally refrained from targeting civilians or public infrastructure, including Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.

He said the group's main target was a military intelligence base about 110km inside Israeli territory - the deepest attack yet and just 1.5km north of Tel Aviv.

This photo taken from a position in northern Israel shows a Hezbollah UAV intercepted by Israeli air forces over north Israel on August 25, 2024. The Israeli military announced early August 25, 2024 that it was conducting pre-emptive strikes in Lebanon after detecting preparations for "large-scale" attacks by the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. Hezbollah said August 25, 2024 it had launched more than 320 rockets at Israel overnight, targeting a string of military positions, even as Israel's military said it was carrying out pre-emptive strikes against the group. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)

This photo taken from a position in northern Israel shows a Hezbollah UAV intercepted by Israeli air forces over north Israel on August 25, 2024. Photo: AFP / JALAA MAREY

Nasrallah said the group would assess the results of the operation, a retaliation for Israel's killing of top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukron on the edges of Beirut last month.

"If the result is not enough, then we retain the right to respond another time," Nasrallah said.

Hezbollah fighters had successfully launched a volley of more than 300 Katyusha rockets to distract Israel's Iron Dome defences before sending attack drones, he said.

They included drones fired from the eastern Bekaa Valley, a first for the group, he said. None of the drone or rocket launchers were damaged in Israel's pre-emptive strikes, he said.

Nasrallah said Hezbollah had not planned a larger attack, specifically denying Israeli military statements that the group had intended to fire thousands of projectiles.

But he acknowledged that the operation had been delayed for several reasons, including what he called a "mobilisation" of Israeli and American military assets in the region.

-Reuters

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