‘Israel has crossed red lines… it is a massacre that deserves a response’: Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader vows revenge for pager bomb attack
- Sonic booms from Israeli fighter jets were heard over Beirut during the speech
The leader of Hezbollah condemned Israel after the beeper attacks, saying that “the enemy has crossed all red lines” and that the deadly strikes “deserve a response.”
As Hassan Nasrallah delivered his speech, sonic booms from Israeli fighter jets could be heard above Beirut.
Live television showed a huge cloud of dust and journalists at the scene reported that the loud noise was followed by screams as panicked Lebanese residents braced for further escalation.
In his first speech since the secret strikes began on Tuesday, Nasrallah said more than 4,000 explosives had been detonated with the aim of killing thousands of people.
“This could be called a declaration of war,” Nasrallah said. “We have been dealt a very hard blow, but this is the state of war. Through this experience and the lessons we learn from it, we will become stronger and more powerful.”
Hassan Nasrallah delivered his first speech this afternoon since the secret attacks began on Tuesday
During Nasrallah’s speech, a loud bang could be heard in the background of Sky News’ live report from Beirut
He said the explosions “had taken place in hospitals, pharmacies, markets, shops, houses and in cars,” and also on the streets “where there were many civilians, along with women and children.”
“This is the scale of criminality,” he said. “What can we call this kind of criminal action — is it a major operation? Is it genocide? Is it a massacre?”
He said the death toll, which totals more than 30, could have been much higher but that not all pagers and radios had been distributed and not all fighters had their communications equipment at hand when the explosions occurred.
During Nasrallah’s lengthy, three-part speech, Israel announced that it would continue airstrikes on Lebanon.
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