A top official in Hezbollah said the Iranian-backed Lebanese terrorist organization is “fully ready” to help Hamas fight against Israel, hinting of its future involvement in the ongoing war.
“The behind-the-scenes calls with us by great powers, Arab countries, envoys of the United Nations, directly and indirectly, telling us not to interfere will have no effect,” Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem said Friday.
Qassem gave the remarks at a rally in Beirut, Lebanon, where hundreds of protesters chanted “death to Israel” while waving Palestinian and Hezbollah flags. “Hezbollah knows its duties perfectly well,” he continued. “We are prepared and ready, fully ready, and we are following developments moment by moment.”
The group has recently fired at the Israeli military along the Lebanese border, but no coordinated offensive against the Jewish nation has been made. Hezbollah is reportedly treading carefully in its limited clashes with Israeli troops, only keeping them busy while trying to avoid the opening of a second battlefront.
“The question being asked, which everyone is waiting for, is what Hezbollah will do and what will its contribution be?” Qassem added. “We will contribute to the confrontation within our plan — when the time comes for any action, we will carry it out.”
The speech came Friday morning as Hezbollah secretary general Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah met with Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian to discuss the tense conflict between Hamas and Israel. Nasrallah has yet to publicly comment on the matter.
However, after the meeting, Amir-Abdollahian urged the U.S. to “control Israel” in order to “prevent the war” from escalating, according to Politico. On Thursday, he warned if Israel continued retaliating against Hamas, other players in the region could join the fight.
“With the continuation of aggression, war crimes, and the siege of Gaza, the opening of other fronts is a real possibility,” Iran’s foreign minister said ahead of the meeting.
The discussion between Iran and Hezbollah comes as Israel is moving forward with a possible ground invasion into the northern region of Gaza after ordering Palestinian civilians to evacuate the area by Saturday morning.
In response to IDF’s warning, Hamas told Gaza residents to not evacuate and called them to “remain steadfast in your homes and to stand firm in the face of this disgusting psychological war waged by the occupation.”
Since the conflict began last weekend, over 1,500 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory airstrikes against Hamas. More than 1,300 Israelis and at least 27 Americans have been killed during Hamas’s invasion into Israel, and thousands more have been wounded on both sides.