Giving a proper response to Israel over the drone incursions was about “establishing the rules of engagement and ... the logic of protection” for Lebanon, Seyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Saturday, referring to last week’s drone attack into a southern suburb of the Lebanese capital Beirut where Hezbollah enjoys massive support.
“Israel should know that the Lebanese air space is not open to her,” said Nasrallah in a televised speech, adding that the Israel attack open the door to assassinations if left unanswered.
The remarks came less than a week after Israel orchestrated a failed bombing mission through drones on Beirut’s Dahieh region.
The attack, which took place early on Sunday, came to a swift end after a first drone fell on a building housing Hezbollah’s media office and a second one crashed in an empty plot nearby after being detonated in the air.
Senior Lebanese officials condemned the attack as a violation of Lebanon’s territorial integrity.
Nasrallah said in his Saturday speech that the response to Israeli attack could come from anywhere in Lebanon and not only from the Sha’baa farms south of the contrary where Hezbollah normally stations most of its military equipment.
“The response will come from Lebanon. We will choose the place and time,” he said.
The Hezbollah leader further rejected claims by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that the resistance group had harbored facilities to build precision-guided missiles for attacks against Israel.
“We don't have a precision missile factory. Netanyahu is lying,” said Nasrallah, adding, however, that there were enough such missiles in Lebanon for any confrontation with Israel.