In a fiery hour-long address broadcast to supporters from a secret location, Hassan Nasrallah said Hezbollah\u2019s role in the fighting so far was minor, vowing that its targeting of Israeli positions with mortars, rockets and anti-tank missiles \u201cwill not be the end.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah greets his supporters via a video link, during a rally in Beirut, Lebanon.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>AP<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cTo the enemy we say, if you think to assault Lebanon or take a preemptive strike against Lebanon it will be the biggest act of foolishness in the history of your existence,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The widely anticipated address from the leader of the designated terrorist group overlapped with a press conference by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Tel Aviv, in which Blinken urged US determination against a second or third front opening in the conflict.<\/p>\n Nasrallah accused the US of being entirely responsible for the war in Gaza, calling Israel its executive tool and \u201cservant,\u201d vowing Hezbollah was prepared to face off US warships in the Mediterranean: \u201cI assure you all options are open on the southern front.\u201d<\/p>\n He also called on Arab states to cut off oil and gas and food supplies from Israel, insisting top officials from Muslim states should have \u201cthe dignity\u201d to travel to the borderline of Gaza to address the world.<\/p>\n \u201cIf an all out war is broken, your [American] fleet will be of no good. Your aerial warplanes will be pointless. You will pay a heavy price\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou, the Americans, are capable of ending the aggression on Gaza because it is you that started [it]. If you wish to steer away from regional war you must hurriedly act towards ending aggression on Gaza,\u201d Nasrallah said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhoever wants to prevent a regional war, and I am talking to the Americans, must quickly halt the aggression on Gaza … If an all out war is broken, your fleet will be of no good. Your aerial warplanes will be pointless. You will pay a heavy price.\u201d<\/p>\n Tensions along Israel\u2019s northern border with Lebanon escalated on Friday ahead of the planned speech by Nasrallah.<\/p>\n It was Nasrallah\u2019s first public speech since Hamas terrorists brutally invaded Israel on October 7, an attack he said was a \u201c100 per cent Palestinian\u201d operation that showed resistance factions were not beholden to Iran.<\/p>\n Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shiite Muslim militant group that emerged in the early 1980s during the 15-year Lebanese civil war. It calls for the destruction of the Israeli state and pledges allegiance to Iran\u2019s supreme leader.<\/p>\n It is considered the jewel in the crown of Iran\u2019s so-called \u201cAxis of Resistance,\u201d which refers to an alliance of proxy forces in the region, including Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups.<\/p>\n Blinken directly addressed the terrorist group in remarks on Friday, when asked if the US would be willing to use its firepower to ward off escalating conflict in the region.<\/p>\n \u201cWith regard to Lebanon, with regard to Hezbollah, with regard to Iran \u2013 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,\u201d Blinken said following a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday afternoon (local time).<\/p>\n Blinken also reiterated Washington\u2019s call for a humanitarian pause and greater aid for civilians.<\/p>\n Hamas-run health authorities in Gaza say at least 9227 people have been killed since Israel started its bombardment on the war-ravaged enclave.<\/p>\n While Israel has been pummelling Gaza, its forces have also faced almost daily fire across the Lebanon border with Hezbollah, which Nasrallah praised for forcing Israel to keep forces near the Lebanon border instead of Gaza or the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n \u201cSome claim that we are about to engage in the war. I\u2019m telling you, we have been engaged in this battle since October 8.<\/p>\n \u201cSome might look at the border and say what we have done is minor. But if you look at it objectively, you\u2019ll see this is significant. But I assure you, it will not be the end.\u201d<\/p>\n Get a note directly from our foreign <\/i><\/b>correspondents <\/i><\/b>on what\u2019s making headlines around the world. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\nMore coverage of the Hamas-Israel conflict<\/b><\/h3>\n
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