Hezbollah claims right to target Israeli civilians; IDF announces 5th Division now operating in Lebanon

IDF kills high-ranking Hezbollah drone unit commander

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Hezbollah has a right to target Israel’s civilian areas due to Israel striking targets across all of Lebanon, the group’s current nominal leader, Naim Qassem, claimed in a speech on Tuesday. He made his remarks shortly before the IDF announced that parts of its fifth division would begin fighting in southern Lebanon.

In his third speech since the assassination of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Qassem, claimed that Hezbollah had only been targeting Israeli soldiers, while the IDF was targeting “children, women, hospitals and medical teams.”

Two weeks ago, Hezbollah established a “new equation” for their attacks, according to Qassem, who is also Nasrallah's former deputy. The new military approach would include inflicting losses on the IDF as it enters into the villages of southern Lebanon, without stopping its advance.

The new phase is to “cause pain and suffering to the enemy,” Qassem said while boasting that the group’s attacks “put millions of Israelis in shelters. We hit the base in Binyamina. It will continue. We have the right to strike any part of Israel.”

“I say to Israel: the solution is only a ceasefire, otherwise millions will be in danger,” he added. Qassem also claimed that Hezbollah has completed the process of filling the command positions that were left vacant due to the IDF's assassinations of its commanders.

Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati told Al Jazeera he “received American guarantees” that Israel would reduce its strikes on terror targets in the capital, Beirut.

Mikati also said he plans to submit a request for a ceasefire in Lebanon to the UN Security Council. However, he added that there was no point in discussing UN Resolution 1559.

כוחות צה"ל ממשיכים לפעול באופן ממוקד נגד תשתיות טרור ומחבלי חיזבאללה בדרום לבנון.
הכוחות חיסלו עשרות מחבלים בהיתקלויות פנים אל פנים ובהכוונת תקיפות של חיל האוויר, השמידו תשתיות טרור של חיזבאללה ואיתרו אמצעי לחימה רבים>> pic.twitter.com/zdIVbd8lq8
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) October 15, 2024

In 2004, UN Resolution 1559 was introduced, calling for the disarmament of all non-governmental militias in Lebanon, including Hezbollah. However, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati argued that enforcing this would risk igniting a new civil war in the country.

The IDF announced on Tuesday that several units of the 210th Regional Division began operating near Mount Dov in southern Lebanon last week.

While this is the fifth division that will be deployed within Lebanon, the amount of troops operating in the harsh terrain of the northern Golan Heights and the Mount Meron foothills is relatively small. It includes only three reserve battalions, among them the IDF’s specialized alpinist unit.

Naim Qassem delivering a speech, Oct. 15, 2024 (Photo: Hezbollah)

Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon (Photo: IDF)

The troops located and destroyed a battle compound that was deserted by Radwan Force terrorists and contained weapons, a solar panel and supplies for a longer-term stay.

Across other combat zones in southern Lebanon, Israeli soldiers eliminated dozens of terrorists in face-to-face encounters and precise airstrikes on enemy positions. In addition to neutralizing terrorists, they dismantled infrastructure and uncovered significant caches of weapons.

In one of the attacks, the military reported that its forces spotted several terrorists entering a military building in the area. Shortly afterward, an aircraft was directed to the location, where it successfully eliminated the terrorists.

Over the past 24 hours, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) continued striking Hezbollah targets across Lebanon, destroying around 200 terror targets, including terrorist squads, anti-tank positions and surface-to-surface missile launchers.