Hezbollah opposes regional war, says Hamas solely reponsible for October 7 attacks on Israel

In his first but highly awaited speech since the onset of Israel-Hamas war, Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah addressed a huge gathering on the outskirts of Beirut to honour “martyrs” who were killed while fighting Israeli forces to liberate Al Quds (Jerusalem).

He said that the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israeli cities were totally Palestinian and right on target to destroy the occupation of their lands.

While Nasrallah was delivering his speech, his fighters attacked 19 Israeli sites on the Lebanon border at the same time launching two combat drones at an location in occupied Shebaa Farms.

“Gaza will prevail and Palestinians will in the end celebrate victory. Based on my personal experience and interactions with Imam Khamenei, I can attest to his unwavering conviction and belief that Gaza will ultimately emerge victorious, and that Palestine will achieve triumph; he conveyed this to us during the initial days of the July aggression,” he said.

On Friday, US State Secretary Antony Blinken met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the third time since Israel declared war on Hamas and his visit is reported to be both assuring Israel American support and pressing Tel Aviv for “humanitarian pauses” in its riposte against Gaza where civilian casualties have mounted exponentially leading to worldwide protests.

Nasrallah addressed Blinken as well. “In the event of any regional war, it’s important to acknowledge that your (US) interests and soldiers will be the ones to suffer the most and endure the greatest losses. Your fleets in the Mediterranean do not and will never instill fear in us. I want to make it clear that the fleets you threaten us with, we have also made preparations to counter them,” he said.

He said that the US must realise the fact it can’t extinguish Palestinians and Lebanese resistance fighters and they will continue to grow despite regular attacks on them. “Those who thwarted your plans in the early 1980s are still very much alive today, and alongside them are their children and grandchildren,” he said. Narallah was referring to US retreat from Lebanon after the suicide truck bombings of marine barracks that killed 307 people– 241 U.S. and 58 French military personnel, six civilians, apart from the two attackers.

Those who aim to avert an American war should act promptly to halt the aggression against Gaza, he added.

Hinting that Hezbollah is determined to dig its heels in the theatre of war for long, he said, “We have initiated actions on this front, and its escalation and evolution hinge on two fundamental factors; the unfolding events in Gaza, and the conduct of the Zionist enemy towards Lebanon.”

His Friday’s address was specifically devoted to “martyrs” as honoring martyrs is considered the highest tribute to them and the event serves as a motivation for young ones to join the resistance.

A number of mothers and sisters whose kin have been killed in the fight with Israelis and Americans since 1982 took part in the event.

Nasrallah said that Hezbollah fighters took position on the South Lebanon front as soon as the successful Hamas mission was completed and the war broke out on October 8. “Our aim is to ensure that Hamas emerges victorious in this war,” he said.

Hezbollah in fact formally issued a call for jihad against Israel on Friday and its media arm issued a Quranic message in this regard: “Permission [to fight] has been given to those who are being fought because they were wronged, and indeed Allah is competent to give them victory. (Quran 22:39)”.

It’s an invitation to all to join the jihad.

 

Russian arms to Hezbollah

Meanwhile, American intelligence officers as reported by the Wall Street Journal and Reuters fear that Russian arms, including anti-aircraft missiles, are on the way to Lebanon to be handed over to Hezbollah, and as well as to Houthis in Yemen. The WSJ specially reported that Russian mercenary force Wagner has been chosen for the task.

American officials are currently monitoring discussions between the Wagner mercenary group and Hezbollah on the possible delivery of the SA-22, a system that uses anti-aircraft missiles and guns to combat airstrikes, the New York Post reported citing the Wall Street Journal report.

The SA-22 system is also known as Pantsir-S1, which is a truck-mounted surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery weapons system made in Russia.

This weapon was also used in the Russian-Ukraine war and could be deployed in the Middle East by the Iran-backed militia group for defence purposes against Israel’s airstrikes.