Hezbollah’s priority right now is defeating Israel militarily, the head of Hezbollah’s media office, Mohammad Afif, has said.

“Tel Aviv is only the start, Israel has only seen so little,” he said.

“Our absolute priority now is to defeat the enemy and force them to stop the aggression. 

“However, any internal or external political effort to achieve a cessation of aggression is appreciated as long as it is consistent with our comprehensive vision of the battle, its circumstances and its results.”

He denied there were weapons stored in Beirut’s southern suburbs and said Israel used timed bombs to make it seem so, promising residents of the neighbourhood and those displaced from southern Lebanon and Bekaa that they would return soon.

The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has intensified in recent weeks, with Israel bombing southern Lebanon, Beirut’s southern suburbs and the Bekaa Valley, killing many of Hezbollah’s top leaders, and sending ground troops into areas of southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah has also been firing rockets deeper into Israel.