Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah declared Israel’s surprise pager and handheld radio attacks a "declaration of war" and dared the Jewish state to invade Lebanon. As he spoke, Israeli forces carpet bombed the terror group's strongholds.
In a televised address Thursday, Nasrallah acknowledged that Hezbollah "received a heavy, painful blow," saying that Israel’s decision to detonate scores of pagers and other electronic devices earlier this week amounted to "a major aggression" that will not go unanswered.
"These massacres amount to war crimes or a declaration of war," Nasrallah said, promising "a crushing response from the axis of resistance."
Israel’s creative operation, which unfolded over Tuesday and Wednesday, saw thousands of Hezbollah communications devices simultaneously explode across Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq, leaving at least 30 dead and thousands more wounded. Just hours before Nasrallah was slated to give his speech, Israel's air force began bombing Hezbollah strongholds across southern Lebanon. Some blasts rang out as he spoke, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Nasrallah's speech—and the corresponding airstrikes—comes as Israel prepares for escalation on its northern front. In the wake of the device explosions, on Wednesday, Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant said he was "diverting forces, resources and energy toward the north." At the same time, the Israel Defense Forces announced the deployment of paratroopers and commandos to the north.
"This means that Israel is going to war [in Lebanon]," Amir Avivi, a reserve brigadier general who has advised Benjamin Netanyahu throughout Israel's war with Hamas, previously told the Washington Free Beacon. "That’s it."
Nasrallah warned Thursday that Israel will face "abyss and hell" as Hezbollah forces gear up for retaliatory strikes that could finally unleash an all-out war.
Hezbollah, Nasrallah also admitted, was wholly unprepared for Israel’s sophisticated attack, which saw the Jewish state surreptitiously install small explosives inside pagers and other devices before they even reached Lebanon.
"There is no doubt that we were subject to a big strike security-wise and human-wise, and unprecedented in the history of the resistance in Lebanon," Nasrallah was reported as saying. "It might also be unprecedented in the world."
Nasrallah revealed that he was contacted by Israel after Tuesday’s initial strike and instructed to stop launching missiles and drones at the country’s northern territories, which have been evacuated for months, leaving tens of thousands of Israeli civilians homeless.
"On Tuesday, I received messages from Israel to stop the attacks. Otherwise, there would be another strike on Wednesday," Nasrallah said.
Israel made good on that promise Wednesday when it detonated another batch of electronic devices like handheld radios that Hezbollah relies on to orchestrate its militant operations. That attack killed at least 14 people and also wounded many more.
Nasrallah vowed that no area in Israel’s north will be safe from Hezbollah aggression.
"Can you return the displaced to the north?" Nasrallah said. "We accept this challenge, and you will not be able to return them and do whatever you want. The only way to return the displaced to the north is to stop the aggression on the Gaza Strip and the West Bank."
Nasrallah also said he is eagerly awaiting a possible Israeli ground operation into southern Lebanon.
"Israel's foolish Northern Command leader talks about a security zone inside Lebanese territory—we are waiting for you to enter Lebanese territory," the terror leader said. "We are waiting for your tanks, and we will see this as a historic opportunity."
Death tolls from the pager and radio explosions are expected to rise as Lebanese authorities grapple with the fallout. Nasrallah said there were "dozens of deaths and countless injuries [that] have yet to be fully reported."
The attacks came in the wake of a Monday visit to Israel from senior White House adviser Amos Hochstein, who traveled to Tel Aviv to urge against all-out war with Hezbollah in favor of fleeting ceasefire talks.