Nasrallah: ‘Israel has not achieved any goal in its war. It should expect surprises from us’

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah asserted on Friday that Israel did not achieve any of its goals in the war on the Gaza Strip, as acknowledged by its own leaders, and promised “surprises” from his group.

This came in a televised speech marking the 24th anniversary of Resistance and Liberation Day in Lebanon on 25 May each year.

Nasrallah said: “The enemy was unable to achieve any of its goals, and this was acknowledged by the head of the entity’s National Security Council (Tzachi Hanegbi).”

On Wednesday, Hanegbi shared during a meeting of the Knesset Security and Foreign Affairs Committee: “We did not achieve any of the strategic goals of the war, as we did not reach a deal to return the hostages, we did not overthrow Hamas, and we did not allow the residents of the Gaza Strip envelope (settlers) to return to their homes safely.”

He pointed out that the army’s estimates indicate that achieving the war’s goals: “Will take a very long time, not one year, but years.”

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In his speech, Nasrallah considered that: “The recognition of the Palestinian state by a number of European countries is a great loss for the occupation.”

He added that this recognition “is considered one of the results of the Al-Aqsa Flood battle,” referring to the attack launched by Palestinian factions against Israeli military bases and settlements surrounding Gaza on 7 October, 2023.

On Wednesday, three European countries (Ireland, Spain and Norway) announced official recognition of the Palestinian state, while others, such as Slovenia and Malta, announced their willingness to take the same step.

Nasrallah also remarked: “One of the results of the Al-Aqsa Flood and the steadfastness of the resistance is that today Israel is appearing before the ICC,” after the court’s prosecutor, Karim Khan, sought to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes in Gaza.

He pointed out that: “Israel has never respected an international resolution. It launched the most violent raids on the city of Rafah after the ICJ decision.”

Earlier on Friday, the ICJ issued new temporary measures demanding that Israel immediately stop its attack on Rafah, keep the Rafah Crossing open to facilitate the entry of aid into Gaza and submit a report to the court within a month regarding the steps it has taken.

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