After recent Hezbollah-Israel clashes, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah delivers a significant speech. Here are five key takeaways from his address, shedding light on the group’s stance and future actions.

Following a fierce exchange of gunfire between the Lebanese organization and Israel, Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah delivered an address on live television.

Hezbollah’s retaliation on Sunday was presented as a reaction to Israel’s killing of Fuad Shukri, the group’s top military leader in Beirut last month.

Before the attack commenced, Israel claimed that it had initiated a preemptive strike on Hezbollah sites located in Lebanon and refuted any significant destruction within Israeli borders.

Nasrallah’s speech yields five essential lessons:

Hezbollah seeks to avert military escalation.

Ever since the commencement of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, one day after the outbreak of war in Gaza on October 8th, concerns have arisen over its potential to spiral into a broader conflict that could embroil Iran and the United States.

Last month, fear escalated significantly due to the killings of Shukr and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. It is believed that this attack was carried out by Israel.

It seems that Hezbollah intentionally conducted the attack on Israel last Sunday in order to prevent an extensive retaliatory act by Israeli forces. Nasrallah conveyed his satisfaction with the success of targeting military and intelligence installations of Israel.

According to Zeina Khodr, reporting from Beirut for Al Jazeera, Nasrallah alleged that the Israeli government was concealing their losses and casualties.

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According to her, the message conveyed by Hezbollah is that if its retaliation has achieved the objective of restoring deterrence as per Nasrallah’s statement, then it is now concluded.

It implies that Israel’s behavior in Lebanon will change significantly, indicating greater control. The following hours and days would clarify whether the Hezbollah attack could compel Israel to respect red lines by halting it from crossing them.

The primary focus was the intelligence base.

According to Nasrallah, the Glilot base located in northern Tel Aviv was Hezbollah’s primary target during the attack. This particular base serves as a hub for Israeli intelligence agencies like Mossad and military intelligence group Unit 8200.

The responsibility of the assassinations of Hezbollah commanders was attributed by Nasrallah to intelligence services.

The leader of the Lebanese group stressed that unlike their previous attacks mainly targeting northern Israel and occupied Golan Heights, this strike penetrated deep into Israeli territory.

He refuted Israeli officials’ claims that the attack had failed, stating that the group executed it “as planned.” Moreover, he accused Israel of concealing details about Glilot’s extent of harm.

According to AFP news agency, an Israeli official stated that the Glilot attack was not successful.

The attack was postponed due to Gaza ceasefire negotiations.

On Sunday, Nasrallah admitted that the attack had been postponed due to various factors. This includes time for preparation after observing Israeli and US military movements, as well as recognizing the advantages of instilling fear in Israelis while sparking discussions within the “axis of resistance” – a group led by Iran comprised of states and armed groups who oppose Israel and the United States – regarding their approach towards attacking Israel either singularly or collectively.

Nasrallah stressed that the delay was mainly to grant sufficient time for the Gaza ceasefire negotiations to yield positive results.

Nasrallah stated that their objective was to terminate the hostility towards Gaza. They granted sufficient time, however it became evident over a prolonged span that Netanyahu had introduced fresh stipulations and with collaboration from the Americans, this endeavor turned out futile. Consequently, there was no justification for further postponement.

The battle of language and storytelling

Taking advantage of his speech, Nasrallah discredited various claims made by Israel.

Of utmost significance was the implication from Israel that they had prior knowledge of the assault, and their preventative strike successfully neutralized Hezbollah’s potential damage.

The fact that Israel had prior knowledge of Hezbollah’s attack further strengthens the belief that the Lebanese organization suffers from significant intelligence breaches, especially following the elimination of several senior commanders.

According to Nasrallah, the Israelis did not detect the attack but instead observed some movement near their border. They subsequently launched strikes that failed to hit any of Hezbollah’s rocket or drone launch sites before the start of the assault. As per Nasrallah, Israel targeted areas with no rockets left as they had either already been removed from depots or were launch sites and struck after completion of attack operations.

In addition, he disputed the Israeli account that they thwarted an assault from Lebanon comprising of numerous rockets by asserting that Hezbollah had intentionally launched around 300 projectiles and then released drones.

Avoided were targets of civilians.

The Israeli military and intelligence were the intended focus, emphasized Nasrallah. The group refrained from targeting any civilian zones, including public facilities like Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport.

He stated that in order to protect the civilians of Lebanon and prevent any harm from coming to them by the enemy, their strategy was focused on avoiding civilian areas within Israel.

Nasrallah recognized that Lebanon has been engulfed by a feeling of fear following Shukr’s killing and due to the prospect of an extensive war with Israel.

Nasrallah expressed that Lebanon can now breathe easily and relax during this particular phase.

Source: Al Jazeera