The head of the Shiite Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, threatened to expand his war against Israel in a speech on Wednesday, boasting that he allegedly has 100,000 terrorists at his disposal and suggesting war with Cyprus may also be imminent.
Hezbollah, one of many Iranian proxy terrorist organizations, has long maintained ties with the Sunni jihadist group Hamas. The group has expanded its attacks on Israel since October 7, when Hamas terrorists launched an unprecedented invasion of Israel that resulted in an estimated 1,200 deaths, the abduction of about 250 people, and widespread torture, rape, and other atrocities.
Hezbollah has focused on attacking northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, firing hundreds of rockets, missiles and drones into Israel. Hezbollah has also started widespread fires, forcing Israelis to evacuate.
Nasrallah delivered his address on Wednesday at a funeral event for Hezbollah terrorists killed in an Israeli counter-operation, emphasizing claims that Israel is lying about its progress in its war on genocidal jihadists and that Hezbollah, despite its documented losses, is putting on an “effective” struggle against the country.
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) March 18, 2024
“The resistance’s manpower is unprecedented. We have recruited over 100,000 fighters,” Nasrallah reportedly claimed, according to the Iranian state propaganda outlet PressTV. “The enemy knows well that we have prepared ourselves for the worst… and that no place… will be spared our rockets.”
“Threatening us with war on Lebanon does not scare us, we have prepared ourselves for the most difficult of days and the enemy knows well what awaits it,” Nasrallah said.
Hezbollah has increased its attack on Israel in June, launching hundreds of rockets during the Jewish holiday of Shavuot (Pentecost) and requiring the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to place tens of thousands of soldiers on the Lebanese border. This week, the IDF announced that it had approved a plan “for an offensive in Lebanon” if necessary in response to continuing Hezbollah attacks.
On Tuesday, Hezbollah published menacing footage of northern Israel apparently taken by its drones, meant to signal that the terrorists had successfully flown reconnaissance aircraft over major population centers such as Haifa. Nasrallah mentioned the footage in his comments on Wednesday, claiming it was part of “long hours of footage of Haifa, what’s around it, what’s before it, what’s beyond it and what’s even further.”
Elsewhere in the remarks, according to PressTV, Nasrallah praised fellow terrorists organizations, claiming the attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis of Yemen against commercial shipping were successful.
“The United States and Britain have failed to stop Yemeni attacks. The Zionist enemy, unable to engage in other fronts, relies on US and UK support to confront Yemeni forces,” he was quoted as saying.
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) December 26, 2018
Nasrallah also reportedly “went on to highlight the spiritual gift of martyrdom.” Rather than respond to the losses by focusing on the one Hezbollah front with Israel on the Lebanese border, Nasrallah threatened to expand the war to the Mediterranean Sea, explicitly threatening the nation of Cyprus.
“The enemy knows that what also awaits it in the Mediterranean Sea is very huge, seeing as all its coasts and ships will be targeted,” Nasrallah was quoted as saying.
Nasrallah threatened the Cypriot government in response to its friendly relationship with the United States and growing ties to Israel.
“Opening Cypriot airports and bases to the Israeli enemy to target Lebanon would mean that the Cypriot government is part of the war,” Nasrallah said, “and the resistance will deal with it as part of the war.”
The regional news outlet Middle East Eye noted, citing experts, that the threat was unprecedented against the Mediterranean nation and appeared to be in response to Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos meeting with American Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday. In a message posted to his social media account, Blinken framed the meeting as a discussion on helping “get essential aid to Gaza,” the Hamas-controlled territory where most of Israel’s operations against the jihadists are currently ongoing.
Hosted Republic of Cyprus Foreign Minister @ckombos to further our bilateral relationship. Through the Cyprus Maritime Corridor, we’re working together to get essential aid to Gaza. We’ll continue to strengthen relations in our strategic dialogue this fall. pic.twitter.com/m0CACm5zI0
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) June 18, 2024
Middle East Eye noted that Cyprus has expanded “energy cooperation” with Israel and welcomed “an influx of Israeli real estate investment in recent years, ironically, along with renewed interest from Lebanese investors.”
The Times of Israel noted in its reporting on Nasrallah’s speech that Cyprus is also home to two British bases, helping the U.K. conduct military operations in the region, but “is not known to offer any land or base facilities to the Israeli military.”
The president of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, insisted in response to Nasrallah that his country is “part of the solution, not part of the problem” and that Cyprus is “in no way involved” in military operations.
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