Hezbollah chief Nasrallah promises 'just punishment' for Israel's terror attacks as Zionist airstrikes scorch Lebanon

Hassan Nasrallah has dared the Israeli leadership to return settlers to the north without ending the Gaza genocide.

A wounded Hezbollah member watches his leader speak from hospital bed.

Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah in a televised address on Thursday evening said that Israeli terror attacks across Lebanon through communication devices on Tuesday and Wednesday were “massacres” and “will be met with severe retribution and just punishment.”

As Nasrallah spoke, Israeli warplanes hovered over Beirut and produced sonic boom, presumably, in an effort to show Zionist bravery against a terrorised population still reeling from its terror attacks of the previous two days.

At around 3:30 pm on Tuesday thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon and Syria exploded simultaneously, causing several deaths and thousands of grievous injuries. Hundreds of walkie talkies exploded the following evening, causing more deaths and casualties, bringing the death toll from the two days of Israeli terror attacks to 37 and hundreds admitted to hospitals.

The exploding pagers, which were built by a Budapest-based shell company named BAC Consulting under a license issued by Taiwanese pager maker Gold Apollo, were reported to have been rigged by the Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency. The terrorist agency with a global reach managed to get hold of the Hezbollah-bound pagers at some stage of the manufacturing or supply chain and filled it with high-grade explosives. An ABC News report, citing a US intelligence source, said that the Israeli plan was 15 years in the making. Veteran Lebanese war correspondent Elijah Magnier has reported that the Zionists filled the devices with PETN (pentaerythritol tetranitrate) and metal balls to essentially convert them into improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

Apprising the status of Hezbollah’s investigations into the exploding communications devices, Nasrallah said: “We will reach definitive results regarding the explosions in a short time, and appropriate measures will be taken accordingly.”

On Monday, Israel added returning the northern Israel residents, who have fled due to continuous exchange of fire between Hezbollah and Israel beginning October 8, as one the goals of its ongoing multi-front barbarism. The worst victims of the ongoing Israeli terrorism have been Gazans, who have been battling a year-long extermination campaign that has reduced their besieged enclave to an uninhabitable killing field with massacres as frequent as one every second hour.

Smug after the two-day terror bombings, Netanyahu on Wednesday night posted a 10-second video on his Twitter account with a simple message: “We will return the residents of the north safely to their homes.”

Netanyahu’s war minister Yoav Gallant, whose position has been reported to be in danger, was also sabre-rattling on Wednesday when he declared that the action has now moved to the Israeli north. “The center of gravity is moving north. We are diverting forces, resources, and energy toward the north,” Gallant said in remarks published by his office.

In further preparation for a war with Hezbollah, the Israeli occupation forces’ 98th Division — which has wreaked havoc in Gaza for months — has now been deployed to northern Israel in preparation for escalations.

Nasrallah was combative about these developments. He directly challenged the Netanyahu-Gallant duo to return its northern residents without ending the genocide in Gaza. He said: “To Netanyahu and Gallant, the Lebanese front will not stop until the aggression on Gaza stops.”

He added that Lebanese fighters are ready to fight for their Palestinian brethren no matter the costs: “Whatever the sacrifices, consequences, possibilities, and the future of the region, the resistance in Lebanon will not stop supporting and standing by the people of Gaza — this is the first response.”

Later in his address, Nasrallah directly challenged Netanyahu to return his settlers in the north without stopping the aggression on Gaza: “I say to Netanyahu: You will not be able to bring the northern residents back to the north. Do whatever you want. This is a great challenge between us and you, and the only way to achieve your goal is to stop the war on Gaza. No military escalation, no killing, no assassinations, and not even a full-scale war can return the settlers to the borders, at all, Allah willing.”

Nasrallah has maintained since the beginning of Hezbollah’s strikes on Israeli territory on October 8 last year that the Lebanese militia has merely opened a support front for the Palestinian resistance in Gaza, and the day the Israelis stop their brutality in the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah will end its operations. Nasrallah again repeated the same stance in so many words.

The Hezbollah chief conceded that the attacks were a major blow to Lebanon, but assured that it wouldn’t affect his men in their resolve and fighting capabilities. He rebuffed Israeli army’s Northern Command chief Ori Gordin remarks about creating a buffer zone on the Lebanese border to secure the return of the settlers and said that he would welcome the Israeli incursions on the Lebanese border. “What the enemy considers a threat, we consider a historic opportunity, and we welcome it,” he said.

Nasrallah welcomed the prospect of his fighters coming up against the Zionist brave hearts, who have terrorised the women and children of Gaza and struggled massively against the Palestinian resistance fighters. “We are searching for Zionist soldiers and tanks to target them with lamp and fuse, day and night, but if they decide to come themselves, we say to them, “Welcome,” said Nasrallah.

Throughout his hour-long address, Nasrallah’s background showed the 39th verse of 22nd chapter (Al-Hajj) of the Qur’an:

Permission to fight back is hereby granted to those being fought, for they have been wronged. And Allah is truly Most Capable of helping them prevail.

Undoubtedly a pointed message to the Zionists from the Hezbollah chief.

Here’s Nasrallah’s speech in full (translated by the Resistance News Network):

I congratulate Muslims on the occasion of the birth of the Greatest Messenger, Prophet Muhammad, and his grandson, Imam Jaafar Al-Sadiq.

I extend my highest congratulations to the families of the martyrs, both in the homeland and on the southern front, for receiving the honor of martyrdom, and I wish the wounded a speedy recovery.

I thank the government, the medical sector in Lebanon for their serious efforts, and all those who donated blood in various Lebanese regions.

I express gratitude to everyone who transported a wounded person and those who declared their readiness to donate organs to the injured.

I thank our kind people and our dear citizens from all regions, as well as political and labor leaders who stood in solidarity with us.

One of the blessings of what happened is the unprecedented humanitarian and moral epic we witnessed on both the national and humanitarian levels.

Thanks to the countries that rushed to send medical aid and transport the injured, particularly Iraq and Iran, and to the Syrian government for opening its hospitals.

The enemy used a civilian device employed by large segments of society, and repeated this on Wednesday by detonating wireless communication devices, regardless of who was carrying them. As a result of this aggression, dozens of martyrs were killed, including children, women, and civilians.

Some explosions occurred in hospitals, markets, public roads, homes, and locations primarily populated by civilians.

When the enemy detonated the pagers, it deliberately aimed to kill 4,000 people in a single minute.

Over the course of two days, on Tuesday and Wednesday, in just one minute, the enemy intended to kill no fewer than 5,000 people in two minutes.

The human efforts and the eagerness shown by the people contributed to reducing serious injuries.

Through Allah’s grace and with sincere and devoted human efforts, zeal, passion, and the massive presence of different segments of our people, a large part of the enemy's goal was thwarted.

We have formed technical and security investigation committees and are studying all possibilities. We have reached an almost complete conclusion, but the case is still under investigation and careful follow-up—from production to distribution and procedures in Lebanon. We will reach definitive results regarding the explosions in a short time, and appropriate measures will be taken accordingly.

There is no doubt that we were subjected to a major blow, both in terms of security and humanity, unprecedented in the history of the resistance in Lebanon, and also unprecedented in Lebanon, the conflict with the zionist enemy, and on a global scale.

What happened was a major terrorist operation, and we will define the events of Tuesday and Wednesday as massacres.

This significant and powerful blow did not and will not bring us down.

This is the nature of war and conflict. We know that our enemy has technological superiority because the West stands behind it. When we engage in this conflict, we rely on effort, sacrifices, attrition, and the accumulation of gains to win. War is a cycle—one day for us from our enemy, and one day for our enemy from us.

Tuesday and Wednesday were a major test for us, and, Allah willing, we will overcome this test with pride. I say that this major blow will not bring us down. Through this experience and its lessons, we will become stronger, more steadfast, and more capable of confronting all possibilities and dangers.

A former Israeli deputy chief of staff described what is happening in the north as a historic defeat for Israel.

The Lebanese front is a heavily pressuring front and one of the most significant bargaining chips that the Palestinian resistance holds today to achieve its goals and stop the aggression.

The enemy attempted to separate the Lebanese front from the Gaza front and threatened war. All of this is aimed at pressuring the Lebanese state, the Lebanese people, and the resistance in Lebanon to stop this front. The massacres of Tuesday and Wednesday were part of the pressure to stop the front.

All the enemy’s attempts failed, and the resistance remained steadfast in its position, so the enemy resorted to this method, which is the highest level of criminality.

After Tuesday’s massacre, we received messages that the goal of this strike was for us to stop fighting on the Lebanese front, and if we do not stop, they have more to unleash.

Another goal of the enemy is to undermine the support base, wear it down, exhaust it, and make it cry out for the resistance to stop.

Our response, on behalf of the martyrs and the wounded, on behalf of those who lost their eyes and hands, and on behalf of all who took on this religious and moral duty to support Gaza, which is suffering from hunger, is this: to Netanyahu and Gallant, the Lebanese front will not stop until the aggression on Gaza stops. 

Whatever the sacrifices, consequences, possibilities, and the future of the region, the resistance in Lebanon will not stop supporting and standing by the people of Gaza—this is the first response.

The statements from the wounded themselves reflect their morale, great patience, and determination to return to the battlefield—this is another response to the enemy.

The enemy aimed to weaken the resistance’s environment through this widespread bombing, trying to exhaust it and make it cry out, telling the resistance leadership, “Enough.” This goal was also thwarted on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The enemy also aimed, through the Tuesday and Wednesday massacres, to undermine the structure and the command-and-control system, and to spread confusion and weakness within Hezbollah’s leadership. This did not happen at any point.

The structure of the resistance has not been shaken or disrupted.

The enemy must understand that what happened did not affect our structure, will, command and control system, or our presence on the front lines; rather, it will make us stronger and more present.

We accepted this challenge on October 8, and today we accept it again. I say to Netanyahu and the Zionist entity: You will not be able to bring the northern settlers back to the north, do whatever you want. If you want to bring the settlers back, the only way is to stop the aggression on Gaza. 

In recent weeks, there has been talk in the zionist entity about shifting focus to the north, with the aim of bringing “northern residents back to the north safely.”

I say to Netanyahu: You will not be able to bring the “northern residents back to the north.” Do whatever you want. This is a great challenge between us and you, and the only way to achieve your goal is to stop the war on Gaza. No military escalation, no killing, no assassinations, and not even a full-scale war can return the settlers to the borders, at all, Allah willing.

The northern region commander proposed creating a security belt within Lebanese lands. I say to him, we welcome that because your soldiers are heavily fortified and are taking many precautions. We are searching for Zionist soldiers and tanks to target them with lamp and fuse, day and night, but if they decide to come themselves, we say to them, “Welcome.” 

The security belt will turn into hell for your army if you decide to come to our land. You will face hundreds of those who were wounded on Tuesday and Wednesday, as they have become even more determined.

What you are about to do will further displace those fleeing from the north and will push away any chance of their return. What the enemy considers a threat, we consider a historic opportunity, and we welcome it. 

There is no doubt that the aggression that occurred is massive and unprecedented, and it will be met with severe retribution and just punishment, from where they expect do not expect it.

As for the severe retribution, the news is in what you will see, not in what you will hear, and we keep this within the tightest circle. 

The enemy’s foolish, narcissistic, reckless leadership will lead this entity into the abyss.

We hope that Allah will help our people in Gaza and the West Bank who are being subjected to genocide before the eyes of the world.

Israeli airstrikes scorched southern Lebanon all evening on Thursday with several locations in the Hezbollah stronghold severely hit by the Zionist aggression.

Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon-based outlet The Cradle reported that over 50 Israeli airstrikes targeted “Mahmoudiya, Al-Aishiya, Rihan Heights, and the Barghaz River in southern Lebanon in recent hours.” It also cited Israeli media reports that “30 Hezbollah launchers containing approximately 150 launcher barrels” were hit.

Hezbollah’s response has been intense with the head of the Metula settlement saying that today’s firing is the heaviest he has seen since October 8: “Massive destruction, fires, and direct damage to buildings; I haven’t seen anything like this since the beginning of the war.”

Raging fires in the Metula settlement.

The Zionist government has told its remaining northern residents to stay holed up in their hideouts fearing more intense Hezbollah attacks. RNN reported: “Zionist police have evacuated Mount Meron in northeastern occupied Palestine. At this time, dozens of settlements have been evacuated, with over 70,000 settlers currently waiting in shelters in anticipation of Hezbollah’s rocket fire.”

It added that the occupation forces “issued an unusual statement asking settlers in the north to remain near shelters ‘until further notice.’” This is order is first of its kind since the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Flood operation.

As the Israelis show zero appetite for curbing their criminal behaviour and continue to commit egregious war crimes with the “ironclad” commitment of the genocidal United States and its European and Arab vassals and their complicit media apparatus, this escalation has all the makings of sparking a broader conflagration that will be difficult to control.

Having gutted whatever remained of the egregiously fraudulent “rules-based international order,” customary lip service to human rights, and the worth of the West-subservient international organisations over the last 11 months, there appears to be no institution powerful enough to stop the Jewish supremacists with an insatiable appetite for human flesh and blood.

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