The head of Hezbollah has insisted that Israel’s attack in Lebanon was not caused by a rocket attack by the Iran-backed Shia militant group.
Naim Qassim argued that instead, no matter what, Israel would eventually have launched an attack against Hezbollah.
“What Israel did after the rocket volley was not a reaction, but a pre-emptive aggression,” Qassem said in a televised speech, trying to appeal to domestic Lebanese viewers, many of whom blame Hezbollah for starting a new war in the country.
Qassim also sought to shift Hezbollah’s fight away from Iran, emphasizing that the attack on Israel was primarily a response to Israel’s violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon, then listing Khamenei’s assassination as one of several other reasons. Many Lebanese are critical of waging the war on Iran’s behalf.
He rejected “those asking about the timing”, saying that Hezbollah had run out of patience with continued Israeli attacks.
