Hezbollah deputy declines saying who fired rockets onto Israel from Lebanon  

The deputy head of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah has refused to confirm who was behind several rockets being fired from southern Lebanon towards Israel during the latter’s recent military aggression against Gaza.

On Saturday, Naim Qassem said during a radio interview: “We’re not interested in deliberating the question of who fired the rockets from southern Lebanon and if it was right to launch them.”

“Hezbollah was in daily contact with the resistance commanders and fighters in Palestinian as part of the organisation’s position of supporting the Palestinian resistance with all capabilities,” he added.

According to Ynet news, it is speculated by the Israeli military that Palestinian factions based in Lebanon were behind the attacks, although it was unlikely that they would be able to fire such ranges “without at least tacit approval of the Iran-backed militia” which maintains a high-degree of control in the country’s south.

Speaking on the current conflict, which has since de-escalated into a ceasefire, Amos Yadlin a former Israeli military intelligence chief was quoted as stating: “Israel needs to manage the conflict in Gaza with a very open eye toward what is happening in the north because the north is a much more important arena than Gaza.”

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Hezbollah was on high alert in the build-up to a large-scale Israeli military drill two weeks ago, that had been called off amid protests against provocative Israeli actions in occupied East Jerusalem.

Following the announcement of the ceasefire on Friday, the Lebanese movement hailed the development as a “historic victory” for the Palestinian people.

“Hezbollah congratulates the heroic Palestinian people and its valiant resistance on the historic victory achieved… against the Zionist enemy,” a statement read.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah is expected to make a speech tomorrow according to Al-Manar which will address the resistance in Gaza and will coincide with the 21st anniversary of Resistance and Liberation Day, which commemorates the Israeli forces’ unconditional withdrawal from southern Lebanon, ending 22 years of occupation.

READ: Israel injures 5 Lebanese along Lebanon-Israel border