Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah has stated that Israel’s war on Gaza has tarnished its reputation.
Nasrallah stressed that Israel has completely fallen “humanely, morally, legally”, adding that across the world the country is being seen as one that kills and starves children and civilians.
He noted recent public opinion polls showing young people in the U.S as supportive of Palestinians.
“This will have a big effect on the conflict and the calculations in our region,” Nasrallah said.
This came as he delivered his first speech since the killing of Hamas’ Deputy Commander, Saleh al-Arouri.
The Hezbollah chief paid tribute to al-Arouri and his companions who were killed in an attack on south Beirut.
He expressed condolences to Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh and the Palestinian people, saying that the assassination was a “blatant Israeli aggression.”
Nasrallah linked together people who have been killed by Israeli and US attacks in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen.
He saluted “all of those martyrs who fell on the road to Jerusalem” and their families.
He said, “We tell them that your blood and sacrifices and patience will only produce good results for Palestine and Lebanon and Syria and Iraq and the entire region.”
He asserted that the killing of al-Arouri is a “dangerous” act, noting that the assassination presents a dual escalation: the killing of the Hamas leader and the targeting of south Beirut.
Also, Nasrallah said that the Hamas attacks in southern Israel brought the Palestinian cause to the forefront after it had been almost forgotten.
“The Israelis now have clarity that they are facing a people that will not forget its land or its history or its present or its sanctities,” Nasrallah said.
He added that resistance movements are gaining popularity despite efforts to blame Hamas for Israeli massacres in Gaza
The Hezbollah chief noted that while “resistance groups” share a vision for the future of the region in opposition to the Israeli occupation, each group operates according to its own strategic vision and local agenda.
He stresses that the so-called “resistance axis” does not follow a centralised command.
Nasrallah said, for example, the Houthis are not carrying out the “Red Sea battle” in Yemen at Iran’s demands, adding “These resistance groups are not tools.”
He mentioned steps taken by groups across the region against Israel, but he particularly lauded the Houthis for targeting Israel-linked vessels in the Red Sea.
“The qualitative, effective, grand step was the defiance in the Red Sea,” Nasrallah averred.
Additionally, the Hezbollah chief declared that Israel has not achieved any strategic victories in its war on Gaza and “they were trying to present an image of victory with the treacherous assassination of Sheikh Saleh [al-Arouri]. But in Gaza, where is it?”
Nasrallah accused Israel of undercounting its military casualties both in Gaza and Lebanon.
He said, “On our Lebanese front, they don’t release the number of dead and injured, and they’re in the thousands.”
Nasrallah Slams U.S Policy
Moreover, the Hezbollah chief said that Gaza showed the “ugliest” reality about the United States.
“Who is doing the killing in Gaza is the American [administration] and the American decision and the American policy and the American missile and the American bomb,” Nasrallah said.
He added that the US is preventing stopping the war and becoming isolated in the world.
Nasrallah reasserted that the killing of al-Arouri will not go without punishment, warning Israel against attacking Lebanon.
“If the enemy thinks about waging war against Lebanon, then our fighting will be with no ceiling, with no limits, with no rules. And they know what I mean,” Nasrallah averred.
He declared, “We are not afraid of war. We don’t fear it. We are not hesitant. If we were, we would have stopped at the front.”
Nasrallah concluded his speech promising to discuss the issue more in a speech on Friday, January 5, 2023.
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