Beirut, Nov 3, (dpa/GNA) – Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, said on Friday that the pro-Iranian movement was already fighting effectively against Israel and that “all options” were on the table in its response to Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
“We have already joined the battle,” he said in his first official remarks since the war between Israel and Hamas began.
Prior to the speech, there had been widespread speculation that Nasrallah – who wields significant power from Hezbollah’s base in Lebanon – would formally declare war on Israel, but he made no such statement.
Avoiding such a widening of the conflict between Israel and Hamas has been a key goal of international diplomacy in recent weeks.
Nasrallah insisted that the attacks on Israeli communities near Gaza were “100% Palestinian.”
“Its implementation was 100% Palestinian, and its owners hid it from everyone,” the Islamist leader said.
The terrorist attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israeli communities on October 7, killed over 1,400 people, the majority civilians.
Israel subsequently launched a heavy air bombardment on the Gaza Strip, with the aim of destroying the Hamas group. Hamas authorities in Gaza say over 9,200 people have been killed in the bombings.
“Some might find what is happening on our front to be moderate,” Nasrallah assured his supporters in the live televised address. “But if you look at it objectively, you will find it to be important and very big.”
The Lebanon front meant a third of the Israeli army, was redeployed to the border with Lebanon rather than around Gaza, he said.
“All possibilities on our Lebanese front are open, and all options are on the table and we can go to them at any time,” he threatened.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking at around the same time as Nasrallah, in turn delivered a warning to Hezbollah:
“In the north, I say again to our enemies: Don’t make a mistake. A mistake will cost you dearly. A mistake will cost you a price you cannot even imagine.”
Nasrallah made his statement at a memorial ceremony for dead Hezbollah fighters. At least 55 militants have been killed in the border area since October 7.
In his speech, he called on Arab countries in the region to stop oil deliveries to Israel.
Nasrallah predicted Israel’s defeat in the war, and condemned Israel’s “extremist, foolish, stupid and brutal government.”
The attacks on October 7 represented “a new historical phase of the conflict with the enemy,” he said.
The speech was widely anticipated in Lebanon. In some cafes in Beirut’s southern suburbs, seen as a pro-Hezbollah district, discounts were being offered in cafes to encourage people to listen to Nasrallah.
Schools sent students home before the speech began. Professional football clubs in Beirut have postponed their training sessions.
Nasrallah lives in hiding and rarely appears in public – he did not deliver the speech in front of an audience, although it was widely televised.
Media outlets in Iran and Iraq also told citizens about the speech and how they could watch it.
Since the attacks on October 7, there have been exchanges of fire on the border between Israel and Lebanon almost every day, with fatalities on both sides.
In the most recent skirmishes, an anti-tank missile was fired at an Israeli military post, bringing return fire by Israel.
A “terrorist cell” was attacked during the night, the Israeli army said.
Hezbollah said late Thursday that its fighters had carried out 19 attacks on Israeli posts near the Lebanese border.
In retaliation, Israeli warplanes struck the outskirts of several villages near the border.
GNA