Hezbollah undeterred despite Israeli attacks

Nasrallah says Tel Aviv has crossed red lines by trying to kill 5,000 people

BEIRUT/JERUSALEM:

Deadly Israeli attacks that blew up Hezbollah radios and pagers crossed all red lines, the leader of the movement said on Thursday, as the Lebanese prime minister called on the United Nations to end this "technological war".

In a speech broadcast on TV channels from an undisclosed location, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah described the attacks as unprecedented and accused Israel of trying to kill 5,000 people. He also played down the impact on Hezbollah, saying the group's structure had not been shaken.

Lebanon and Hezbollah have blamed Israel for attacks on Hezbollah's communications equipment that killed 37 people and wounded around 3,000, overwhelming Lebanese hospitals and wreaking bloody havoc on the militant group.

Israel has not directly commented on the attacks, but security sources say those were probably carried out by its Mossad spy agency, which has a long history of carrying

out sophisticated attacks on

foreign soil.

"There is no doubt that we have been subjected to a major security and military blow that is unprecedented in the history of the resistance and unprecedented in the history of Lebanon," Nasrallah said. "This type of killing, targeting and crime may be unprecedented in the world," he said.

Nasrallah said thousands of pagers had been targeted simultaneously, with some of the explosions happening in hospitals, pharmacies, markets, shops and streets busy with civilians, women and children. "With this operation, the enemy violated all laws and red lines," he said.

"The enemy went beyond all controls, laws and morals," he said, appearing in front of a featureless red background in his customary black turban.

He added that the attacks could be "considered war crimes or a declaration of war, they could be called anything".

As the broadcast was aired, deafening sonic booms from Israeli warplanes shook Beirut, a sound that has become common in recent months but has taken on a greater significance as the threat of all-out war has steadily ramped up.

Nasrallah said Hezbollah hoped Israeli troops would enter southern Lebanon because that would create a "historic opportunity" for the group. No military escalation, killing, assassinations or all-out war would return Israeli residents to the border area, he added.

Whilst Nasrallah insisted the group's structure had not been shaken. "Yes, we received a big and harsh blow, but this is also the nature of war," Nasrallah said. "We know that our enemy has superiority on the technological level and we have never said otherwise."

Meanwhile, Iran's Revolutionary Guards Commander Hossein Salami told Nasrallah on Thursday that the Jewish state could face "a crushing response from the axis of resistance". Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati called on the Security Council to take a firm stand to stop "technological war" against his country.