Israel kills dozens in Gaza; Hezbollah chief declares ‘victory’
- At least 33 Palestinians have been killed and 137 injured in Israeli attacks in the past 24-reporting period across the Gaza Strip, according to the territory’s Health Ministry.
- Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem declares “divine victory” in first speech since ceasefire with Israel came into effect.
More from Hezbollah’s Qassem
Hezbollah’s chief Naim Qassem is delivering a televised speech.
Qassem said Israeli soldiers suffered a lot of losses as “many were killed and wounded” in battles with Hezbollah.
He said plans put forward by the group’s slain chief Hassan Nasrallah proved to be agile, effective, and took into account various “developments”.
Israeli forces killed and displaced thousands of people, but failed to succeed among the “steadfast” Lebanese population that “stunned the world and instilled fear in the Israeli army”, Qassem said.
He said he hopes a president will be elected in a parliamentary session on January 9.
Naim Qassem declares ‘divine victory’ in televised address
Hezbollah’s secretary-general has been speaking in a televised address, the first since a ceasefire with Israel came into effect two days ago.
Naim Qassem declared “divine victory” after months of cross-border attacks and fighting with Israeli forces, saying it is bigger than the one in 2006 when Hezbollah went to war with Israel for 34 days.
Qassem also described Israel’s losses as “massive” and said thousands in Israel have been displaced from towns near the border with Lebanon.
He said Hezbollah “approved” the ceasefire and coordination between Hezbollah and the Lebanese army will be carried out on a “high level” to ensure implementation of the agreement. But he warned Hezbollah is prepared “for war” if Israel attacks.
Hezbollah chief delivers speech
Naim Qassem has begun his televised address.
We’ll bring you the most important of his comments shortly.
Dutch PM says Netanyahu could visit Netherlands without being arrested
Dick Schoof says there may be options for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit the Netherlands without being arrested despite an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against him.
“The most important thing is that we have obligations that come from the treaty and that we comply to them,” the Dutch prime minister said.
“In light of that, we would have to see how we act when the prime minister of Israel were to come to the Netherlands. There are possible scenarios, also within international law, in which he would be able to come to the Netherlands without being arrested.”
Schoof did not elaborate on the possible scenarios. The ICC issued arrest warrants last week for Netanyahu and his former defence chief Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza war.
