In Response to Israeli Threats
Nasrallah Says Hezbollah Is Ready for an All-Out War
Hezbollah’s Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, said in a televised speech on Wednesday 19 June, that his group is ready for war if Israel dares to attack Lebanon. Nasrallah’s warning is seen as a response to the threat from Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz of an “all out war” against Lebanon a day earlier.
“No place across the Zionist entity will be safe from Lebanese resistance group’s weapons in case of a full blown war,” Nasrallah said claiming that “the enemy knows well what awaits it, and that is why it has been deterred so far.”
Nasrallah was addressing a memorial service for a senior commander, Talib Abdallah who was killed by Israel last week. He warned that in case an “inclusive war” is imposed on Lebanon, Hezbollah will fight it “with no rules and with no red lines.”
On Tuesday in a post on X, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote, “We are very close to the moment of the decision to change the rules against Hezbollah and Lebanon. In an all out war, Hezbollah will be destroyed and Lebanon will be severely hit.” This was apparently in response to Hezbollah posting surveillance video footage of Israel’s Haifa port.
Israeli forces had also issued a statement later claiming that its northern command had approved plans to launch a ground offensive across the country’s northern borders.
The escalation between Hezbollah and Israel comes amid apparent US efforts to find ways to reduce it. Amos Hochstein, an American envoy, was in Lebanon on Tuesday to meet Lebanese leaders after meeting Israeli leaders on Monday. The US is worried that a war with Lebanon would lead to further regional escalation and may threaten its interests in the region.
Warning to Cyprus
Nasrallah also warned that Hezbollah will consider Cyprus a party in the war with Israel if it provides Israeli forces bases or airports to launch attacks against Lebanon.
“I draw the attention of the Cyprus government that we have information that the Israeli enemy is conducting maneuvers in preparation for a war with Lebanon, and that airports in Cyprus could be opened to Israeli fighter jets,” Nasrallah observed.
“Hereby, and in one word, I call upon the Cyprus government to be aware that if it opens its airports to the Israeli enemy during a potential war, we will treat Cyprus as a part of the war,” Nasrallah said.
Nasrallah claimed that Hezbollah has enough weapons and drones to tackle any threat from Israel and a war will see its forces fighting on all fronts; air, land, and sea.
Nasrallah reiterated that Hezbollah will continue its attacks against Israeli targets until the war in Gaza ends. “Our demand is clear: a complete and permanent ceasefire in Gaza,” he said.
Nearly 37,400 Palestinians have been killed and over 85,000 others have been wounded in the Israeli war in Gaza since October 7.
Noting that the present battle against Israel is the greatest battle since 1948 and it will change the face of the region, Nasrallah claimed that the “Lebanon front prevented some Israeli divisions from joining the battle in Gaza, and some of these forces are elite ones as the Israeli enemy fears that Hezbollah could invade Galilee. Hereby I say that this option is still on the table.”
Hezbollah claims to have launched over 2,100 military operations in northern Israel since October 8 killing nearly 25 people, mostly Israeli soldiers. Hezbollah’s attacks have also forced thousands of Israeli settlers to leave the towns and villages and shift to the southern parts of the country. According to UNOCHA, over 350 people have been killed inside Lebanon by Israeli attacks and over 90,000 people have been displaced, mostly in south Lebanon.