News - Middle East: Benjamin Netanyahu launched Israel’s latest deadly campaign of bombardment and assassinations in the Gaza Strip in an attempt to divert attention away from the crisis in Israel, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah says. 

But the Israeli prime minister’s tactics have failed to get the desired results, the Hezbollah secretary-general added.

The chief of Lebanon's resistance movement made the remarks in a ceremony held in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh on Friday to commemorate the 7th anniversary of the martyrdom of Sayyed Mustafa Badr al-Deen, a military leader of Hezbollah and an advisor to the resistance movement’s chief.

Nasrallah hailed Badr al-Deen as an “insightful commander” with deep knowledge and strategic mentality, saying he attained all “honorable medals” a resistance fighter could achieve.

The Hezbollah chief said Badr al-Deen’s repeated calls for working under a unified banner manifested the unity of the Axis of Resistance.

Nasrallah offered his condolences to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad resistance movement over the martyrdom of its commanders in recent Israeli airstrikes.

“We all know Netanyahu is the one who initiated the aggression by assassinating three Islamic Jihad commanders from the al-Quds Brigades in the Strip and a number of women and children,” Nasrallah said.

 “Netanyahu’s motives behind the aggression were clear as he was trying to restore deterrence, flee the internal crisis, deal with divisions in his coalition cabinet and improve his political and electoral status.”

“Netanyahu’s calculations were a failure as he decided to target the Islamic Jihad movement and spare the rest of the factions, and create chaos within the resistance front," he added.

Islamic Jihad acted wisely after the assassination of the leaders in the al-Quds Brigades, Nasrallah said, adding that the Israeli enemy was waiting for a reaction from the movement and when its leadership resorted to calm, the enemy became confused.

Resistance in Gaza is powerful thanks to the unity between the Palestinian factions, Nasrallah said. “The unity of the Palestinian resistance factions has prevented the occupation from achieving its goals.”

The secretary-general of Hezbollah also said it is unfortunate the international community remained silent and the United States prevented the UN Security Council from condemning Israel for killing women and children in Gaza.

"The battle of Gaza is important and its effects are not limited to the Strip, but to the entire region, and we are in constant contact with the leadership of the resistance in Gaza, and we will not hesitate to provide assistance at any time when duty calls,” Nasrallah said.

The Israeli regime has been continuously bombarding the besieged Gaza Strip over the past four days, assassinating several resistance commanders and killing civilians, including women and children. In response, Palestinian resistance factions have launched retaliatory strikes toward Israeli cities and settlements, with the Israeli military saying nearly 1,000 rockets have so far been fired from the Strip.