In an interview with Lebanon’s Al-Mayadeen channel, Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Naim Qassem unveiled fresh details about how the group reacted immediately following the October 7, 2023, Hamas assault on Israel.
According to Qassem, Hamas reached out to Hezbollah just half an hour after initiating the attack, informing then-leader Hassan Nasrallah of their operation and urging Hezbollah to fully join the battle. “Hamas contacted then-Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, informed him of the operation, and asked the group to join the fighting in full force.”
Qassem insisted that Hezbollah was not aware in advance of Hamas’s intentions. After receiving the message, Nasrallah relayed it to the group’s leadership for internal discussion. At first, there was consideration of launching strikes in the Har Dov region, anticipating that Israeli counterattacks would escalate gradually. Ultimately, however, Hezbollah’s top decision-making body, the Shura Council, resolved to offer limited support rather than launching a full-fledged military campaign.
He cited three key reasons for this restrained approach: the lack of coordination prior to the attack, concern that widespread fighting could draw in the United States, and the belief that partial involvement would still align with Hezbollah’s larger strategic objectives.
During the conversation, Qassem also touched on the repercussions of a major intelligence breach referred to as the “beeper attack.” He noted that Hezbollah established both a central investigative committee and multiple sub-teams to probe what went wrong and how the breach occurred.
He further disclosed that Israel had succeeded in exposing Hezbollah’s clandestine procurement operation—a sophisticated global network designed to mask the identities of those acquiring resources. This exposure, Qassem admitted, allowed Israel to dismantle the organization’s internal communications system. He called the setback “a very severe blow.”
When speaking about Hezbollah’s preparedness today, Qassem issued a clear warning: “We are upgrading, recovering, and now we are ready. If Israel attacks, we will not stand by and watch. We will fight them.”
The interview took an emotional turn when Qassem began to weep while mentioning the late Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. He explained that his tears were not merely over Nasrallah’s death but over the void left by his absence.
{Matzav.com}