In his response to the assassination of Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri on Tuesday in Beirut's Dahiyeh district, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah saved his remarks for the end of his speech Wednesday.
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"We will not simply move on from this audacious assassination," he declared. "I promise a response from Hezbollah. Naturally, I won't disclose our plans, but Israel will regret the assassination."
Since Tuesday afternoon, following al-Arouri's assassination — for which Israel has not accepted responsibility — tension in the north has escalated. The Haifa municipality rushed to open shelters, while Germany and Canada on Wednesday ordered their citizens to immediately leave Lebanon "for security reasons."
Meanwhile, a local Hezbollah commander in the A-Nakoura region of southern Lebanon, Hussein Yizbak, was reportedly killed Wednesday night in an IDF attack on the town, along with three other Hezbollah operatives.
The Lebanese terrorist organization announced the death of an additional five operatives Wednesday, totaling 147 fatalities within its ranks - while Israel estimates the actual number to be higher, including terrorists not officially affiliated with the organization.
IDF Chief of Staff LTG Herzi Halevi visited the northern border on Wednesday, where he conducted a situation assessment with Northern Command chief Major General Uri Gordin, 210th Division commander Brigadier General Tzion Ratzon, and with brigade and reserve battalion commanders active in the sector.
"We are in a very intense state of readiness in the north," Halevi said. "I visit here often, and I believe our preparedness is at its peak. We have great expertise, good capabilities and high morale. We are in a very good state of readiness across all sectors, and we are currently focused on fighting Hamas."
“This war began at a difficult point, but even in these very tough circumstances, it creates some opportunity to significantly change the situation. Both in the south and the north, as well as the overall regional stability.
“We are going to change our routine defense; we're going to maintain much more forces on the borders for at least the next year and achieve something much stronger. Because this event (the October 7 massacre) cannot repeat itself, that's certain. We need to provide a very strong response in this matter."
However, the words of the army chief did not reassure the residents of the northern border area, tens of thousands of whom are evacuated from their homes.
"Nasrallah threatens, Hezbollah attacks, IDF responds, and we're in the middle, with ghost towns and residents who are evacuated and another day of tension, readiness and anti-tank missiles," Moshe Davidovich, head of the Mateh Asher Regional Council and chairman of the Frontline Settlements Forum, said on Wednesday.
"For 80 days, from Metula to Rosh Hanikra, Hezbollah has been firing and hitting directly. The assassination of the senior Hamas official is not necessarily related to the daily war against Hezbollah that tails us."
Eitan Davidi, chairman of the Moshav Margaliot Council, also criticized the IDF's conduct Wednesday night. "I am very disappointed that the IDF spokesperson provided explanations suggesting we are dealing with Hamas, not Hezbollah," he said.
"To me, this seems like an unnecessary half-apology. According to foreign sources, we eliminated who needed to be eliminated and did what had to be done. Our response should be clear, and our resolve and power should deter.
“Since yesterday, we've been on tenterhooks, and no one knows when it will end. This deeply saddens me. Once, the State of Israel knew how to deter, and a message of such an assassination would only have frightened the enemy. It's unacceptable that we are deterred by the responses to our decisive actions."
"The defense the chief of staff promises us won't do anything for us and won't bring Margaliot's residents back to their homes. These are just empty platitudes. A screen of words meant to try and sneak us back through the back door to our homes. If he thinks this will achieve his goal, he's far from it. We are not the residents of the 80s, 90s, or the Grapes of Wrath era. We are residents of October 7; we've seen firsthand what happens to our children and families with Hezbollah across the fence, and it doesn't matter if there are 200 or 400 soldiers here.
“We won't return. My house is just 150 meters from the Lebanon border. How much army can you place between me and the fence? He can tell those bubbe meises to those unfamiliar with the threats and the atmosphere in the north. The chief of staff should be clear and not make statements about beefing up defenses but about delivering a blow from which Hezbollah cannot recover."
On the other hand, the one who did speak about blows Wednesday was Nasrallah, who, in his speech that lasted nearly two hours, reckoned to the best of his ability with "the Zionist entity."
Nasrallah dedicated his speech to the former Quds Force commander of the Revolutionary Guards, Qasem Soleimani, marking four years since his assassination by the U.S.
According to Nasrallah, Soleimani worked in his lifetime to unite the ranks of "the resistance" in the Arab world - the Quds Force and the Revolutionary Guards in Iran; militias in Iraq; Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza; the Houthis in Yemen; and the forces in Syria.
"Suddenly," Nasrallah described, "an active 'resistance' front against Israel arose, but each entity in the 'front' operates independently, at its own pace, for its own reasons, without receiving operational directives from Iran. Iran's role is only to provide weapons, ammunition, military equipment, training and operational guidance, but not operational directives."
Nasrallah devoted the bulk of his speech to Israel's internal disintegration following the "failure" in Gaza. "You hear voices against the government inside Israel. You see political camps, even criticizing the Israeli Air Force. This is the first time the real war is heating up inside Israel. There's also a heated anti-Israel atmosphere internationally. Only the U.S. and Britain are cooperating, while 153 countries worldwide are condemning Israel and calling for it to stop killing innocent Palestinians in Gaza.
"Everything Israel has touched since October 7 is doomed to fail. They lack security, and without security, Israel will lose its right to exist. I call on the Zionists – pack your bags and go to another place that will accept you. After all, every Israeli has a passport from another country."
Nasrallah addressed the war objectives set by Israel and turned to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. "Their defense minister says that without the return of captives from Gaza and the overthrow of Hamas, Israel will be in a difficult position, and people will not want to live there. I announce that you will not succeed in bringing back more living Israeli captives.
“You have failed in your objectives. Gallant, by Allah's help, you will not be able to achieve your war goals. Israel is weak after what happened on October 7, and what is yet to happen in the future will weaken Israel even more," he threatened.
"You have lost the element of surprise, and we are fighting in an organized and calculated manner. If Israel decides to start a war on Lebanon, you will see that our response will be without limits."