BEIRUT: Hezbollah Secretary-General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Sunday that the Lebanese group targeted an Israeli military intelligence base near Tel Aviv around 100 kilometres (70 miles) from the Israel-Lebanon border in a significant escalation of cross-border hostilities.
In a televised address, Nasrallah said that the main target of the attack was the Glilot base. “The main target for the operation inside Israel was the Glilot base — the main Israeli military intelligence base”, Nasrallah said.
Nasrallah stated that this attack was the first time Hezbollah had utilized drones launched from the Bekaa Valley region in Lebanon.
Nasrallah said that the movement’s retaliatory operation was aimed at avenging the martyrdom of senior commander Fuad Shukr.
Israel crossed all redlines in aggression against southern Lebanon, Nasrallah said, noting that the Resistance in Lebanon did not target civilians in the occupied lands in its Arbaeen operation.
The Hezbollah’s secretary general talked about the reason for the delay in taking revenge for Fuad Shukr’s martyrdom on the Zionist entity and said that Hezbollah sought to give opportunity to the Gaza ceasefire talks in an attempt to see an end to the Israeli genocidal aggression against Palestinians.
Nasrallah said that the movement decided to target the Glilot military spy base close to Tel Aviv. He said that despite the enemy’s claims that it had shot down the drones, a large number of the drones crossed the border safely into Palestinian airspace and reached their specified targets.
The Hezbollah leader further said that Israel is covering up its losses in the Hezbollah operation. He noted that the main targets were the spy bases and the air defence bases that were hit.
Nasrallah said that all the Hezbollah missiles targeted Israeli military sites rather than civilian targets. He went on to refute claims by Israel that it hit Hezbollah missiles in a pre-emptive attack, saying that the regime failed to hit any of Hezbollah’s strategic or ballistic missiles.
Hezbollah chief also noted that the Israeli pre-emptive strike did not have any impact on the movement’s retaliatory strike. The retaliatory operation went according to the plan, Nasrallah stressed, noting that all Israel came to a standstill due to Hezbollah’s retaliatory operation.
He declared that it is Hezbollah that will decide on any more retaliatory measures in the future.
In response to the attack, the Israeli military reported that a member of its navy was killed and two others were injured in combat following a barrage of rockets fired by Hezbollah. The Israeli military confirmed the casualties but denied that the Glilot base was struck. “I can confirm that there were no hits at the Glilot base,” a spokesman said.
The United States provided intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) support to track the incoming attacks but was not involved in any direct military actions or intercepting projectiles, according to a US defence official.
Meanwhile, Jordan’s Foreign Ministry warned of the potential for a broader regional conflict if the escalation in southern Lebanon continues. Spokesman Sufyan Qudah emphasized the importance of supporting Lebanon’s stability and called for international mobilization to halt hostilities in Gaza.
The United Nations and Egypt also voiced urgent calls for de-escalation. The UN special coordinator for Lebanon and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) issued a joint statement urging all parties to ceasefire and avoid further escalation, stressing that the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 is crucial.
This resolution, which ended the 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, calls for the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers to be the sole armed forces in southern Lebanon.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, during an emergency meeting with his ministers, reiterated the need for an end to Israeli aggression and the implementation of Resolution 1701. Mikati also expressed support for international efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.
Egypt warned against the dangers of opening a new war front in Lebanon, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday and called for stability in the country as Hezbollah and Israel clashed again.
