Israel’s Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, issued a warning to Hezbollah’s new leader, Naim Qassem, on Tuesday, stating that his tenure “won’t last long.”
“Temporary appointment. Not for long,” Gallant wrote in a post on X alongside a photograph of Qassem, whom Hezbollah had earlier named as assassinated leader Hassan Nasrallah’s successor. In a separate post in Hebrew, Gallant wrote that the “countdown has begun”.
During a visit to the Israeli military’s northern command on Tuesday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated that he believed the majority of Hezbollah’s rocket arsenal had been destroyed by Israeli attacks.
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“I estimate the residual capacity of (Hezbollah) projectiles and rockets to be in the order of 20 percent, and it is no longer organised in a way that it can fire volleys,” he said.
On Tuesday, Hezbollah launched approximately 60 projectiles into Israel by 15:00 (1300 GMT), according to a military statement.
In recent weeks, Hezbollah has fired up to 200 rockets on some days, as per figures from the Israeli military.
The Israeli military has also intensified air strikes targeting Hezbollah’s weapons production and storage sites within Lebanon.
Israeli Defense Minister Gallant stated that tens of thousands of soldiers have successfully pushed Hezbollah out of all border villages, dismantling various types of infrastructure in the area. “These actions are creating a new reality in Lebanon and the region,” he added.
According to regional analysts, Hezbollah had an estimated arsenal of 150,000 rockets before the escalation in October 2023, following Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
It also possesses anti-aircraft, anti-tank, and anti-ship missiles, as well as ballistic missiles capable of reaching deep into Israeli territory.
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