Hassan Nasrallah refused to say when or how Hezbollah would take revenge. As he spoke, Israeli fighter jets swooped low over Beirut.
The leader of the Lebanese armed militia Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, vowed on Thursday that his group would exact retribution from Israel for the coordinated attacks of exploding pagers and hand-held radios that killed 37 people and wounded thousands more this week.
Israel “will face just retribution and a bitter reckoning,” Mr. Nasrallah said in his first televised remarks since the explosions on Tuesday and Wednesday. But, he added, “I will not discuss time, nor manner, nor place.”
“This retribution will come. Its manner, size, how and where — these are things we will certainly keep to ourselves, in the narrowest circles even among us,” he said.
As Mr. Nasrallah spoke, Israeli fighter jets swooped low over Beirut, accompanied by sonic booms that sent residents running from their homes.
The attacks were widely attributed to Israel, which has declined to publicly take responsibility. Booby-trapped wireless devices belonging to Hezbollah members detonated across the country, often in their owners’ hands and pockets. More than 2,900 people were wounded; the breakdown between civilians and combatants remained largely unclear.
The coordinated attacks raised tensions in a region already on edge. After the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, which triggered the war in Gaza, Israel rushed soldiers to its northern border, fearing a similar invasion by Hezbollah. (Hamas and Hezbollah are both backed by Iran and dedicated to the destruction of Israel.)
