Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, speaking for the first time since the Hamas attack on Israel dramatically escalated tensions in the region, threatened on Friday that his forces are “ready for all possibilities” to scale up the war.
“We have already joined the battle since Oct. 8,” said Mr. Nasrallah, a Shia cleric who has been leading Hezbollah since 1992. The past month has seen a dramatic increase of clashes along the Lebanese-Israeli border, where 55 Hezbollah terrorists were killed—the greatest casualty the group has suffered since it fought a 34-day war with Israel in 2006.
The terrorist leader praised the “heroic” attack by Hamas, describing it as a “100 percent Palestinian” decision.
“This great, large-scale operation was purely the result of Palestinian planning and implementation,” he said. “The great secrecy made this operation greatly successful.”
Israel, according to Mr. Nasrallah, is making mistakes by setting goals it “cannot achieve” in response to the Oct. 7 attacks, an apparent reference to Israeli leaders saying they aim to destroy Hamas and bring home the hostages Hamas is holding.
Threat of Regional War
When it came to whether Hezbollah would go to war with Israel, Mr. Nasrallah indicated it would depend on the situation in Gaza. “We are ready for all possibilities,” he said, warning that “those who want to prevent a regional war must quickly stop the aggression in Gaza.”Funded and equipped by Iran, Hezbollah has claimed to have a fighting force of 100,000 men. By comparison, Lebanon’s military has about 80,000 active personnel. Israel has recently summoned over 360,000 reservists to join its war efforts.
Even without engaging in an all-out war, Hezbollah’s presence is already forcing Israel to keep a significant portion of its forces on alert on land, in the air, and at sea on the northern border instead of deploying them to the West Bank or Gaza. The possible outbreak of hostilities with Hezbollah has also prompted the Israeli government to order the evacuation of tens of thousands of civilians from their homes in communities near the border.
Regarding the role the United States plays in the conflict, Mr. Nasrallah claimed that “America is completely responsible for the current war in Gaza and Israel is just its tool.”
White House Reiterates Warning
Both the United States and Israel have warned Hezbollah against opening a second front in the war. On his third trip to Israel since the war broke out, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated that any such attempt would be met with retaliation.“With regard to Lebanon, with regard to Hezbollah, with regard to Iran—we have been very clear from the outset that we are determined that there not be a second or third front opened in this conflict,” Mr. Blinken said at a press conference in Tel Aviv, in response to a question about whether Washington would be willing to “actually use its firepower in the region” in that scenario.
“President Biden said on Day One to anyone thinking of opening a second front, taking advantage of the situation: ‘Don’t,’” he continued, saying that the Biden administration is backing up those words with “practical deeds,” including sending the aircraft carriers to the region, shooting down missiles fired from Yemen toward Israel, and retaliatory strikes following multiple attacks on U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria.
“The United States has and we will continue to respond to attacks by Iran’s proxies to defend our personnel in the region, personnel who are here in Iraq and in Syria to help prevent the resurgence of ISIS,” he told reporters. “We will do what is necessary to deter and respond to any attacks.”
