“All options available”… I won’t declare ‘all-out war’
Hassan Nasrallah, head of Lebanon’s Shia armed political faction Hezbollah, hinted at the possibility of expanding the front line with Israel on the 3rd (local time) and warned that it would depend on what Israel does in the Palestinian Gaza Strip. However, he did not declare the ‘all-out war’ that attracted attention.
According to foreign media such as Al Jazeera and the Guardian, Nasrallah said this in his first public speech broadcast live on video at a rally in Beirut, Lebanon, about a month after the start of the Israeli-Palestinian war. CNN reported that this speech was also his first public speech since the month-long war between Lebanon and Israel in 2006.
On the 7th of last month, Nasrallah described the surprise attack by Hamas, the Palestinian armed faction that rules the Gaza Strip, called Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, as a “blessed operation” and said, “It revealed Israel’s weakness.”
He said, “This glorious and tremendous operation caused an earthquake in security, military, political, diplomatic and psychological aspects. “This will have tremendous strategic repercussions,” he said, adding that the impact will continue in the future.
However, Hezbollah did not intervene in this operational plan. “This was 100% implemented by Palestinians,” he said. “It was a great success because it was carried out in complete secrecy.”
Regarding Israel’s goal of eradicating Hamas from the face of the earth, he dismissed it as an “unachievable goal” and called it “one of Israel’s biggest mistakes.”
Nasrallah is a highly respected figure within the Axis of Resistance, a network of Islamic militia groups backed by Iran. If he decides to start an all-out war, there is a high possibility that Islamic militant groups in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen will also take action, which will escalate into a full-scale Middle East war.
Nasrallah said in his speech, “Hezbollah participated in the battle on October 8, one day after the start of the surprise attack on Hamas. “The daily fighting with Israeli forces along the Lebanese (southern) border may seem insignificant, but it is very significant and unprecedented since 1948,” he said. The number of Hezbollah deaths due to the fighting is said to be 57 so far.
He continued, “Further expansion of the Lebanon front is realistically possible. “All options are open on the Lebanese front,” he said, emphasizing that Hezbollah is preparing for all possibilities. He also proposed ‘ending the war in Gaza’ and ‘victory for Hamas’ as short-term goals.
However, he said, “It depends on Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip.”
It is interpreted that while not ruling out the possibility of expanding the front, they did not immediately declare ‘all-out war’.
He also claimed that the deployment of US warships was not a threat to them and that the US was ultimately responsible for this war.
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2023-11-03 16:05:00
