Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike in eastern Baalbeck, in the Bekaa Valley, on Sept. 23, 2024. (Credit: AFP)
In response to Israeli threats of a ground incursion into Lebanon, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said on Thursday, “What the enemy sees as a threat, we see as an opportunity. I would even go so far as to say that it is our heartfelt wish.”This hypothesis has become more likely, in light of the intensified Israeli strikes on Monday which make it seem like Lebanon is on the brink of an all-out war.Nasrallah’s remarks, made before the Israeli strike in the heart of Beirut’s southern suburb on Friday and Hezbollah’s subsequent strikes on Haifa on Sunday, carry several messages. First, a message to his popular base, still choked by the detonation waves of pagers and walkie-talkies. A second to the Israelis, promising them that they will be bogged down “in shifting sands.” “It will be hell,” he vowed.Gradually weakened by...
In response to Israeli threats of a ground incursion into Lebanon, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said on Thursday, “What the enemy sees as a threat, we see as an opportunity. I would even go so far as to say that it is our heartfelt wish.”This hypothesis has become more likely, in light of the intensified Israeli strikes on Monday which make it seem like Lebanon is on the brink of an all-out war.Nasrallah’s remarks, made before the Israeli strike in the heart of Beirut’s southern suburb on Friday and Hezbollah’s subsequent strikes on Haifa on Sunday, carry several messages. First, a message to his popular base, still choked by the detonation waves of pagers and walkie-talkies. A second to the Israelis, promising them that they will be bogged down “in shifting sands.” “It will be hell,” he vowed.Gradually...