Israel erred in thinking that Hezbollah would allow Israel to strike terrorist targets in Lebanon without any retaliation, Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said Saturday night in a speech marking 15 years since the 2006 Second Lebanon War.
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On Friday, Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets at the Israeli Golan Heights and Kiryat Shmona. The rockets headed toward populated areas were intercepted by the Iron Dome system, while others were allowed to fall in open areas.
Hezbollah said that Friday's attack was a response to Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon earlier in the week, which came in response to previous cross-border rocket fire on Israel.
Video: Al-Manar TV via Reuters
"This is a dangerous development," Nasrallah warned. "Israel was wrong in calculating that we would let their airstrikes go without a response. We are brave enough to claim responsibility for our actions."
Nasrallah said he "salutes everyone who has stood by on in our years of battle against the Israeli enemy. Our main responsibility now is to maintain the successes of the resistance. Our biggest strategic victory is the Second Lebanon War. Since then, Israel has not carried out airstrikes in Lebanon, thanks to the deterrence we created. In the 15 years that have passed, Lebanon has seen calm and security like it hasn't since 1948."
The Hezbollah leader went on to say that Israel was "afraid to attack in Lebanon because of the war's domestic consequences" and "because of their army."
"Israel is more afraid for its existence than ever before because of what is happening in Palestine and because the axis of resistance is growing stronger. Our message to Israel is that when they strike open territory – so will we. Any Israeli airstrike in Lebanon will be met with an appropriate, proportional response," Nasrallah added, claiming that Israel was trying to "violate" a long-standing balance.
"We always used to say that we are not looking for war and we don't want war but we are ready for it," he said.
Nasrallah also warned Israel not to "miscalculate by saying that Hezbollah is busy with Lebanon's problems."
Nasrallah also discussed an incident Friday in which Druze residents of the village Chouya stopped a Hezbollah rocket launching crew and detained them until the Lebanon Army could arrive, claiming that the Shiite organization was endangering the residents' lives by firing at Israel from civilian areas.
Nasrallah called the incident "disgraceful" and said, "If we could fire on the same [Israeli] area from Shiite concentrations or from our homes, we wouldn't fire from your area."
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