A day after Israel assassinated the Deputy Head of the Hamas Political Bureau, Saleh Al-Arouri, in Beirut, Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah appeared yesterday evening, Wednesday, January 3rd, in a pre-programmed speech that was widely followed in the region because many analysts expected it to include an announcement. About escalatory steps to respond to the assassination.
Published on: 01/04/2024 – 16:32
3 minutes
Nasrallah said in the speech, which came on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the assassination of the commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Qassem Soleimani, in Iraq, that “Israel tried to create an image of victory through the assassination of Saleh Al-Arouri in Beirut yesterday, Tuesday, after it failed to achieve this in Gaza.”
He considered that “yesterday’s crime was major… This crime will not remain without response and punishment, and between us and you is the field, the days and the nights.”
The Secretary-General of Hezbollah explained that “the resistance in Lebanon, on October 8, when it opened the front with the Israeli occupation, was not subject to Israeli deterrence and was more daring and prepared for confrontation and courage.”
In an escalation of his speech, Nasrallah said, “Until now we are fighting on the front with precise calculations, and for this reason we are paying a price with the lives of our youth… The war with us will be very costly. If a war is launched against Lebanon, the Lebanese national interests require that we take the war to the end without restrictions.”
Nasrallah stressed that “what is happening in the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon and Yemen will overthrow the concept of safe refuge in the Israeli occupation entity,” repeating the phrase that “the land of Palestine from the river to the sea belongs to the Palestinians alone.”
A letter with multiple messages
Observers considered that the speech of the Secretary-General of Hezbollah came below the expectations of his audience, recalling his threat to Israel that if it carried out assassinations inside Lebanese territory, the party’s response would be unprecedented. But according to observers of Lebanese political affairs, Nasrallah reserved for himself the option of “responding at the appropriate time” with this speech.
Analysts added that the form of the speech and Nasrallah’s calm during it were a message to the Lebanese interior, first, that the southern Lebanon front is a “backing front” for Gaza, and will not be the starting point for any massive military action or direct confrontation line. They also sent a message to the Israelis that the party was ready for confrontation, but according to its terms, not theirs.
The White House responded
In his speech, Nasrallah threatened the United States, holding it “full responsibility” for the war in Gaza, by targeting its fleets in the Mediterranean. He addressed Washington, saying, “Whoever wants to prevent a regional war must hasten to stop the aggression against Gaza.”
In an initial reaction to the speech, a spokesman for the National Security Council at the White House said that Washington is aware of what was stated in Hassan Nasrallah’s speech, and does not intend to engage in a war of words.
The official considered that Hezbollah should not try to exploit the war in Gaza. Warning that this would turn the current conflict into a bloodier war than the war that broke out between Israel and Lebanon in 2006.
The spokesman stressed that Washington does not want this conflict to expand to include Lebanon, saying that “it is difficult to imagine the devastation that will befall it.”
He stressed that “the United States does not seek to escalate or expand the conflict” continuing between Israel and Hamas.
2024-01-04 15:32:14
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