If the Israelis want to carry out a ground offensive, we are ready for it. They will never achieve their goals, says Hezbollah's Vice Secretary-General Naim Qassem, in a televised speech, according to a direct translation by Al Jazeera.
Hezbollah has replacements for all leadership positions within the movement, just to be able to stand strong if and when they are killed, he assures. And he rejects Israeli claims that many leading figures were killed in Friday's attack and says that, among other things, many guards were present.
Qassem, who has formally taken Hassan Nasrallah's place, does not announce a new leader. One will be elected in the normal way, as soon as possible, he says.
All vacancies will be filled. I want you to be assured that the election will take place with ease, since we stand united, says Qassem, according to the quick translation from Arabic to English.
He describes it as Israel having been forced to evacuate masses of people when Hezbollah has shelled the country with a single robot.
And more can follow, says Naim Qassem, but he also talks about the importance of patience and understanding that the movement's response may take its time.
This is the first official statement to come from Hezbollah since Hassan Nasrallah and several other people were killed in an Israeli air raid on a quarter in southern Beirut on Friday.
The 71-year-old Naim Qassem was present at Hezbollah's founding in the 1980s and has been its Vice Secretary-General and second-in-command since 1991.
