Lebanese Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah speaks to his supporters through a screen during a rally to mark the Prophet Mohammed’s birthday in a suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, October 2, 2023. Portal/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo Acquire License Rights
- Nasrallah has not given a speech since the October 7 Hamas attack
- Hezbollah has clashed with Israelis at the border
- The speech is expected on a larger scale in Lebanon
BEIRUT, Nov 2 (Portal) – Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah will make his first public comments on Friday since the Palestinian group Hamas and Israel went to war. This speech is examined for clues as to how the group’s role in the conflict might develop.
Hezbollah, a massive Iran-backed force, has attacked Israeli forces along the border, where 50 of its fighters were killed in the deadliest escalation since their 2006 war with Israel.
The group said it carried out 19 simultaneous attacks on Israeli army positions on Thursday using guided missiles, artillery and other weapons, coinciding with what it called dual-bomb drone strikes.
As fighting escalated on the border, Israel responded with air strikes and tank and artillery fire.
But with clashes so far largely confined to the border, Hezbollah still has only a fraction of the firepower that Nasrallah has used to threaten Israel for years.
Many people in Lebanon are eagerly awaiting the speech at 3 p.m. (1:00 p.m. GMT), plagued for weeks by fears of a catastrophic conflict. Some say they are making no plans beyond Friday because they believe his comments would signal the possibility of escalation.
The speech is also more eagerly awaited. Nasrallah is a leading voice in a regional military alliance that Iran formed to counter the United States and Israel.
Known as the “Axis of Resistance,” it includes Shiite Muslim Iraqi militias who have fired on U.S. forces in Syria and Iraq, as well as the Houthis in Yemen, who have intervened in the conflict by firing drones at Israel .
Nasrallah wears the black turban of a Sayyed, a descendant of the Prophet Mohammed, and Shiite clerical robes and is one of the most prominent personalities in the Arab world.
Recognized even by critics as a talented orator, his speeches were closely followed by friends and foes alike. He is viewed as a terrorist by adversaries, including the United States.
His fiery speeches during the 2006 war raised his profile, including one in which he announced that Hezbollah had attacked an Israeli navy ship with an anti-ship missile and urged viewers to “look to the sea.”
While Nasrallah has remained out of the public eye since October 7, other Hezbollah officials have hinted at the group’s willingness to fight. But they have not set any red lines in the conflict with Israel.
Asked on October 22 why he had not yet spoken, Hezbollah politician Hassan Fadlallah said Nasrallah was monitoring the situation in Gaza “moment by moment and hour by hour” and was overseeing the battle in Lebanon. Not speaking publicly was “part of his coping with the struggle,” he said.
The speech will be broadcast at the same time as rallies called by Hezbollah to honor fallen fighters.
Mutual threats of destruction have prevented Israel and Hezbollah from waging war on the Lebanese-Israeli border since 2006. Syria now serves as the theater of their conflict.
Sources familiar with Hezbollah’s thinking say the group’s attacks so far have been measured to prevent a major escalation while keeping Israeli forces busy on the border.
Lebanon can ill afford another war with Israel. Many Lebanese are still suffering from the effects of the catastrophic financial collapse four years ago.
Israel has said it has no interest in a conflict on its northern border with Lebanon.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Hezbollah against opening a second war front with Israel, saying it would lead to Israeli retaliation of “unimaginable” proportions that would have a devastating impact on Lebanon.
writing by Tom Perry; Edited by Angus MacSwan, William Maclean
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