Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said on Monday that the Lebanese terror army is ready for a potential Israeli ground incursion.
It was the first public address by a Hezbollah official since the killing of the group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut on Friday.
“Will Israel enter Lebanon? We are ready and prepared to defend it. We know the battle will be long, and we are ready to deal with any situation. We will emerge victorious from this battle. Israel will not be able to reach our military capabilities, and it is going crazy because of this,” said Qassem.
He also claimed that the radical Shi’ite militia’s cross-border attacks were continuing and increasing despite the death of Nasrallah.
“Our operations continue at the same pace, and are even intensifying. We struck Ma’ale Adumim and Haifa, and we are continuing,” the deputy secretary-general declared.
The terror leader also said that a replacement for Nasrallah at the top of the military command chain would soon be chosen.
“We are on the battlefield and will not budge an inch from Nasrallah’s positions. We are continuing our work according to the organizational structure and in line with contingency plans,” he remarked.
“Despite the assassination of our leaders, Israel has not been able to affect our capabilities, and the enemy is going crazy because it has not succeeded in destabilizing us. There is a replacement for every leader who is harmed. A secretary-general will be chosen as soon as possible according to the mechanism, and the options are clear,” he said.
Qassem also refuted the Israel Defense Forces’ report regarding Friday’s airstrike, saying that “there were not 20 commanders with Nasrallah.”
He also criticized American support for Israel, stressing that “the United States provides unlimited support to Israel in committing genocide.”
