With the situation in the Middle East remaining extremely volatile and the possibility of further escalation increasing, the international community is watching developments with bated breath. The statements by the leaders of Hezbollah and Iran underscore their determination to continue resistance against Israeli attacks, while Israel has launched a new wave of attacks in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah gave a rousing speech, while Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallad and the top commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami, made their own statements, exacerbating the already tense situation. .

Hassan Nasrallah gave one of his most aggressive speeches, condemning the Israeli attacks and calling on Israel to stop the attack on Gaza. During his speech, which was accompanied by Israeli shelling of southern Beirut, Nasrallah described recent Israeli attacks on Hezbollah, such as those based on explosive devices hidden in pagers and walkie-talkies, as a “declaration of war.”

Nasrallah spoke of a massacre, stressing that Israel crossed “red lines”. He admitted that this was the biggest blow Hezbollah had suffered, but said the organization would emerge stronger. “Lebanon’s front with Israel will not stop until the end of aggression in Gaza”he said, emphasizing that “We hope Israel invades southern Lebanon because that will create a historic opportunity for Hezbollah.”

Israel, for its part, launched dozens of airstrikes in the southern part of Lebanon yesterday, as reported by Lebanese media, which is one of the most intense waves of attacks since the beginning of October. According to the IDF, Israeli warplanes hit about 30 Hezbollah rocket launchers and other infrastructure in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon is burning tonight pic.twitter.com/5hFEchQEvr

— Amir Tsarfati (@beholdisrael) September 19, 2024

At the same time, Israel’s Defense Minister, Yoav Galand, said that Israel’s military action against Hezbollah “will continue.” “In the new phase of the war there are significant opportunities but also significant risks. Hezbollah feels persecuted. The sequence of our military actions will continue” Galland emphasized during a briefing with officials of the Israel Defense Forces. “Our goal is to ensure the safe return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes. As time goes on, Hezbollah will pay a greater and greater price.” he added.

The supreme commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami, supported Hezbollah in his public statements as well and emphasized that the Israeli attacks in Lebanon are the result of Israel’s “desperation” due to its failures in Gaza.

Salami warned that such actions would be met with an “overwhelming response” from the axis of resistance, implying Iran’s close cooperation with Hezbollah and other paramilitary forces in the region. This statement shows Iran’s intention to effectively support Hezbollah in the event of a full-scale military conflict with Israel, highlighting the importance of the region to Tehran’s geostrategic interests.

Appeal from Macron and Blinken

In a telephone conversation he had with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and the commander of the armed forces Joseph Aoun, the French president expressed “his strong concern” over the successive explosions which “contribute to a dangerous escalation of of tension in the area” endangering the civilian population.

Macron told them he also plans to speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and that “all sides must
act so as to avoid war.”

“We don’t want to see any escalation from either side, which would make the situation even more difficult,” said for his part the head of American diplomacy Anthony Blinken.

How the devices were triggered

At the same time, the preliminary investigation by the security services in Beirut shows that the communication devices that exploded the previous two days in various parts of Lebanon were trapped before reaching the country, according to a letter from the Lebanese diplomatic mission to the United Nations as reported by Reuters .

Lebanese authorities also ruled that the explosives in the bugged buzzers and portable radios procured by Hezbollah members were detonated by sending electronic messages to those devices, the letter to the UN Security Council said.

They were killed by the explosion of the organization’s buzzers and portable radios
37 people and more than 3,000 were injured.