Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, calls Hamas’ terror attack on Israel on October 7 “glorious” and says the operation was “100 percent Palestinian.”
He began his speech in Beirut, the first since the start of the war, as expected by paying tribute to the “fallen martyrs” and expressing his condolences to the affected families.
Nasrallah’s speech has been eagerly awaited in recent weeks. There were fears that he would announce new attacks by Hezbollah, but that did not happen. During his speech, Nasrallah thanked Iraqi and Yemeni fighters who are now involved in ‘the holy war’. Houthi rebels have fired rockets at Israel from Yemen, without hitting targets.
Despite keeping the terrorist action secret, “no one from the Axis of the Resistance is angered by these actions.” The Hezbollah leader emphasizes that Hezbollah was not involved in the Hamas attack of October 7.
Yet Nasrallah gives his support to Hamas: “Hamas’ decision was right, wise and courageous. It also came at the right time.”
The United States is “fully responsible” for the war in Gaza, according to the Hezbollah leader. Nasrallah adds that the US must pay the price for the Israeli attacks.
Further escalation at the Lebanese border cannot be ruled out
Hezbollah’s actions on the Lebanese border may seem modest, but they are “very important”. According to Nasrallah, Hezbollah actions are increasing day by day to force Israel to keep its troops near the Lebanese border instead of the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank.
He does not rule out further escalation along the Lebanese border. According to Nasrallah, this depends on the escalation in the Gaza Strip: “All options are open.” A wider conflict in the Middle East is “a real possibility”.
Hezbollah has two goals, Nasrallah emphasizes. First of all, the war in Gaza must end. The second goal is for Hamas to emerge victorious.
Hostages
According to Nasrallah, Hamas’ attack has “exposed Israel’s vulnerability and weakness, Israel appears to be more vulnerable than a spider’s web.”
The Israeli army is criticized by the Hezbollah leader because it “has not been able to demonstrate a single military achievement in a month.”
Israel “never learns from the lessons or experiences of the past” with Palestine or Lebanon and “cannot achieve its goal of eliminating Hamas,” it added.
Still, he points out that negotiations between Hamas and the Israeli government are “the only way Israel can get hostages back.”
