Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah on Friday threatened to escalate his group’s involvement in the fighting in Gaza, as he warned that the US would have to pay for supporting the Jewish state in what he called a “holy war”
In lengthy televised remarks on Friday, Nasrallah came short of saying Hezbollah would get involved in Hamas’ fight in Gaza, claiming it is “already doing its part” by drawing Israeli forces north to the border with Lebanon — and away from the southern border with Gaza.
But the terrorist leader said that he and other Hezbollah officials may decide to take further action depending on Israel’s response in Gaza.
He also warned that if the Israeli Defense Forces attack Lebanon they will “pay dearly.”
“I tell the Israelis, if you are considering carrying out a preemptive attack against Lebanon, it will be the most foolish mistake you make in your entire existence,” Nasrallah said.
“Nothing is off the table,” he said.
He warned that Americans would also “have to pay.”
“Let me be clear: the United States is just as responsible” for the war, he argued, claiming that the American military’s support for Israel is enabling the Jewish nation’s war efforts,” Nasrallah said.
“The United States is controlling the war in Gaza, and it is the United States that must pay the price for the crimes perpetrated by the Israelis in Gaza and by the Americans in Iraq and elsewhere,” he said.
“If an all-out war breaks out, you Americans will pay with your ships, your aircrafts and your soldiers,” Nasrallah threatened.
He also claimed in his hour-and-a-half-long pre-recorded remarks that Hezbollah was not involved in Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel — though it supports those fighting against Israel in what it deemed a “holy war.”
“The October 7 operation was planned in total secrecy, even other Palestinian factions were not privy to it, let alone resistance movements abroad,” Nasrallah claimed.
“The international community keeps bringing up Iran and its military plans, but the October 7 attack was a 100% Palestinian operation, planned and executed by Palestinians for the Palestinian cause, it has no relation at all to any international or regional issues.”
But he also expressed his support for Hamas, saying Hezbollah has only two goals in the region — to stop the war in Gaza, and for Hamas to be victorious in its efforts.
“If we want to search for a battle with complete legitimacy, there is no battle like the fight with the Zionists,” Nasrallah said.
“If we look for a war from the side of a moral, religious and humanitarian level, this is not something we have to see against the Zionist regime,” he continued, adding: “This is the only war that deserves to be fought.”