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Hezbollah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah warned on Friday that the south Lebanon front with Israel is open to all possibilities, at any time, depending on developments in the raging war in Gaza.
In his first long-awaited and apprehended public address since the outbreak of the conflict between Hamas and Israel on October 7, Nasrallah purported that his Iran-backed party had entered the war on October 8, a day after the Al-Aqsa Flood operation started.
“The escalation (in south Lebanon) was first confined to the Shebaa farms area, then expanded to all other Israeli positions along the border. What’s happening on the border may be seen as moderate and shy, but it is precise and effective, though not sufficient,” Nasrallah told a large crowd of cheering partisans who gathered in Ashoura Square in the heart of Beirut’s southern suburb, a Hezbollah stronghold.
While the majority of the Lebanese people are against Lebanon’s involvement in the Gaza conflict, Nasrallah boasted about attacking all Israeli positions across the border, targeting artillery, drones and tanks on a daily basis.
He justified his party’s escalation with Israel as a means of alleviating pressure on Hamas, claiming that Israel had to deploy one third of its elite troops on the border with Lebanon instead of dispatching them to the Gaza front.
However, he inherently suggested that Hezbollah will continue operating within the framework of the rules of engagement, warning the Israelis against targeting civilians which will draw a similar response from the Lebanese side.
Nasrallah claimed that Hezbollah’s operations and its military readiness is deterring Israel from venturing into an open confrontation with Lebanon. “The Israeli leadership is in a state of fear and confusion. They will calculate every single step they might take against Lebanon,” he said, warning that “a preemptive attack against Lebanon will be the biggest foolishness.”
He stressed, however, that the escalation in the South depended on the developments in Gaza, “since the southern front is in solidarity with Gaza, and will change accordingly.”
Nasrallah saluted what he described as Hamas’ “heroic battle,” which the Palestinian group was fully aware that it would draw Israel’s wrath on the enclave and its civilian population.
“The decision to carry out the Al-Aqsa Flood was 100% Palestinian and its implementation 100% Palestinian. This battle is fully Palestinian and has no links to any regional issue whatsoever,” he said.
Justifying the onslaught of thousands of Palestinian civilians, mostly children, infants and women, he said cold-bloodedly that “the battle is legitimate and the sacrifices rightful.”
He vowed that Israel will not be able to wipe out Hamas, the same way it failed to eliminate Hezbollah during the 2006 war, adding that the Gaza battle is “decisive” and will impact Israel’s future.
Nasrallah then lashed out at the United States, which he called “the Greatest Satan” after Khomeini’s expression, holding it directly and fully responsible for the onslaught in Gaza.
“We are ready for your (US) fleets with which you threaten us… If the war in the region breaks out, no fleet or squadrons will be useful and you will pay the biggest price,” he warned the Americans.
He also praised the so-called Islamic resistance in Iraq and the Houthis in Yemen for supporting Hamas by sending drones and firing missiles at targets in Israel.
Nasrallah then called on Arab and Islamic governments to escalate pressure to stop the attack on Gaza. “Sever relations, withdraw your ambassadors and stop fuel and food exports to Israel.”
He concluded by setting two objectives: stopping the war on Gaza, and ensuring Hamas’ victory.
In his speech, Nasrallah revealed that 57 Hezbollah fighters have been killed in border confrontations since October 8.
