BEIRUT: Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah acknowledged Thursday his powerful group had suffered an 鈥渦nprecedented鈥� blow when thousands of operatives鈥� communication devices exploded in attacks it blamed on Israel.
Israel has not commented on the attacks that killed 37 people and wounded nearly 3,000 across Lebanon over two days but has said it will widen the scope of its war in Gaza to include the Lebanon front.
Delivering a speech after the attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday, which plunged Lebanon into panic, Nasrallah struck a defiant tone, warning that Israel would receive 鈥渏ust punishment鈥� for the attacks.
Describing the attacks as a possible 鈥渁ct of war,鈥� he said Israel would face 鈥渢ough retribution and just punishment, where it expects it and where it does not.鈥�
鈥淚t could be a war crime or a declaration of war,鈥� he said of the attacks, which he branded a 鈥渕assacre.鈥�
Nasrallah also vowed to keep up Hezbollah鈥檚 fight against Israel until a ceasefire in Gaza is reached.
鈥淭he Lebanese front will not stop until the aggression on Gaza stops鈥� despite 鈥渁ll this blood spilt,鈥� he said.
Nasrallah addressed Israeli officials鈥� promises to return thousands of Israelis displaced by exchanges of fire across the border with Lebanon to their homes.
鈥淵ou will not be able to return the people of the north to the north,鈥� he said, warning that 鈥渘o military escalation, no killings, no assassinations and no all-out war can return residents to the border.鈥�
Hezbollah is an ally of Palestinian militant group Hamas, which on October 7 launched an unprecedented attack on Israel that sparked Gaza鈥檚 deadliest ever war.
Up until now, the focus of Israel鈥檚 firepower had been on Gaza.
But Israel鈥檚 northern border with Lebanon has seen exchanges of fire between Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants almost every day since October.
The violence has killed hundreds of people, mostly fighters, on the Lebanese side, and dozens on the Israeli side.
Israeli warplanes broke the sound barrier over Beirut as Nasrallah spoke, Lebanon鈥檚 state-run National News Agency said, with AFP correspondents in Beirut reporting loud booms.
Nasrallah announced the launch of an internal probe into the attacks, which experts and some Israeli media have said bear all the hallmarks of Israeli intelligence agency Mossad.