VIDEO - Secretary General of Hizbullah, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, termed the Wednesday kidnapping of two IDF soldiers along the northern border by members of his terrorist organization, “The promise that was kept.”
Nasrallah appeared before the cameras Wednesday afternoon and delivered a public speech promising that the abducted Israeli soldiers were still alive.
Video: Al-Jazeera
“First, thank God for the victory, the Jihad, and the results," he said. "I want to turn to the brave fighters who today fulfilled the promise and therefore this operation is called 'The promise that was kept.' I thank them and kiss their hands. Today is a day of loyalty to Samir Quntar and the rest of the Lebanese prisoners in Israel.”
'Two soldiers kidnapped'
Nasrallah continued, “We announced that two soldiers were taken hostage. We will make details known as the time is right. It is not true that IDF forces entered the south of Lebanon after the encounter. The Israeli report is not true. No forces entered. Whoever heard this could have assumed that they reached Beirut, but this didn’t happen.”
Regarding the reports of the Israeli tank that was destroyed, Nasrallah said, “The tank was destroyed when it infiltrated Lebanese territory. Other than that there was no infiltration. The hostages are in a secure place, very far away.”
“The operation was carried out at 9:05 a.m., and at 10:30 the Israelis still didn’t know what happened. The infiltration of the tank was at one point only, and it was destroyed. What we did today was our natural right and the only way to bring about the release of prisoners and detainees held by Israel.”
Nasrallah demands prisoner exchange
Regarding the kidnapped Israeli soldiers, he said: “The soldiers will be returned on one condition – indirect negotiations for the exchange of prisoners. If the aim of the Israelis is to bring their soldiers home, they can’t do it with a military operation. The Lebanese government is under very heavy pressure from the United States, the UN and the rest of the international elements. We are getting very severe threats.”
“Up until now the Israelis carried out a series of response operations and we exercised great restraint,” he continued. “Any infiltration into Lebanese territory will meet a very harsh response. Our restraint is not out of weakness. We are exercising level-headed restraint.”
IDF pursues kidnappers
Wednesday afternoon, the IDF continued its ground pursuit of the kidnappers on Lebanese territory. Simultaneous to the ground battle, Lebanese land was being shelled by IDF tank artillery, cannons, planes and navy battleships. The Air Force attacked over 30 targets in Lebanon.
During the IDF operations, the IAF targeted bridges, power stations and a number of Lebanese infrastructure sites. Lebanese media reported that due to the shelling, the Lebanese army was preventing residents from entering Tyre. In one of the shellings, it was reported, at least two Lebanese civilians were killed. Simultaneously, fighter jets flew over Beirut.
The kidnapping itself occurred in the morning hours. Under heavy shelling, that “lit up” the whole region, RPG missiles were fired towards IDF stations. Tracks, blood stains and a breach in the fence were found on the scene. Shortly thereafter, Hizbullah announced that it was holding two Israeli soldiers hostage, who had been transported to a secure location and who would only be released – together with Gilad Shalit – in a large-scale prisoner exchange.
Israel has launched an incursion into southern Lebanon in what they claim is a search for two Israeli soldiers. The soldiers were taken Wednesday following an attack by Hezbollah, a Lebanese militia, that had made an incursion into Israel. 

Three Israeli soldiers died and eleven were wounded when army transports patrolling at the Israeli-Lebanese border were attacked on Wednesday morning, near the Israeli village of Zar'it. Hezbollah also fired mortars and long-range rockets at the Israeli town of Shlomi and nearby communities. Six Israeli civilians were injured by the artillery fire.

After the attack two soldiers were found to be missing. Israeli troops and tanks then entered southern Lebanon, having claimed the soldiers were kidnapped. Following the incursion, five more soldiers were killed, four of them when an Israeli tank hit a mine. Hezbollah said one of its members died.

The Israeli air-force targeted several roads, bridges and Hezbollah outposts in an attempt to stop militants from moving the soldiers, Israel said. Two civilians were killed in an air raid on one of the bridges, while 23 others have been injured. Israeli artillery and gunboats also attacked other targets on Lebanese soil.

Later, Hezbollah said they had destroyed an Israeli tank which had crossed the border into Lebanon.

Ehud Olmert, Israel's Prime Minister, blamed the attack on the Lebanese government calling it "an act of war" and vowed to deliver a "very painful and far-reaching" response. Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Dan Halutz told Israel's Channel 10 that if the soldiers are not returned "we will turn Lebanon's clock back 20 years".

Hezbollah Secretary-General, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, hailed what he called the capture of the two soldiers calling them "our natural, only and logical right". He also said that the soldiers were taken to "a far away place" and that the only way to get them back was through an exchange with Lebanese and other Arab prisoners in Israeli jails.

The Israeli cabinet is in an emergency meeting and has yet to make an official statement about the situation. PM Ehud Olmert said previously that swapping of prisoners is not an option.

Hezbollah's announcement of their captures led to celebration scenes in a Hezbollah-strong suburb in Beirut with firing of guns in the air and handing out candy to children.

The Lebanese government issued a statement after an emergency meeting of the cabinet saying that it was not informed of the intentions of Hezbollah and that it does not endorse the group's actions. Prime Minister Fouad Siniora was quoted as saying that "the government was not aware of and does not take responsibility for, nor endorses what happened on the international border". 

Hezbollah currently has two sitting members on the Lebanese government's ruling coalition.

The view recognized by the United States is one that condemned the attacks, but acknowledged that Lebanon had little say over Hezbollah in the south. The White House  said the militant group's violent actions were supported by Iran and Syria.

Israel has filed a complaint with the United Nations which called for the Security Council to enforce resolutions urging Lebanon to extend its authority throughout its territory and to disarm its militias.