Hezbollah leader threatened to escalate his group's fighting in 'holy war'
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Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday threatened to escalate his terror group’s involvement in the Israel-Hamas war, 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 — his first since Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel — Nasrallah, however, fell short of saying Hezbollah would fully enter 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.
He said that the time isn’t right for an all-out war.
“For those who say that Hezbollah should start a war in the entire region, I say wait. These are the beginnings,” the terror leader said, adding that he and other Hezbollah officials may decide to take further action depending on Israel’s response in Gaza.
Nasrallah also warned that if the Israel Defense Forces attack Lebanon, it 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 continued.
He also warned that Americans would “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,” the terror chief said.
Follow along with The Post’s live blog for the latest on Hamas’ attack on Israel
“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.
Israel-Hamas war: How we got here
2005: Israel unilaterally withdraws from the Gaza Strip more than three decades after winning the territory from Egypt in the Six-Day War.
2006: Terrorist group Hamas wins a Palestinian legislative election.
2007: Hamas seizes control of Gaza in a civil war.
2008: Israel launches military offensive against Gaza after Palestinian terrorists fired rockets into the town of Sderot.
2023: Hamas launches the biggest attack on Israel in 50 years, in an early-morning ambush Oct. 7, firing thousands of rockets and sending dozens of militants into Israeli towns.
Terrorists killed more than 1,200 Israelis, wounded more than 4,200, and took at least 200 hostage.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to announce, “We are at war,” and vowed Hamas would pay “a price it has never known.”
The Gaza Health Ministry — which is controlled by Hamas — reported at least 3,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 12,500 injured since the war began.
“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.”
Nasrallah’s speech had been widely anticipated throughout the region as an indication of whether the Israel-Hamas conflict would spiral into a broader clash — and despite the threats, many perceived the Hezbollah leader’s words to be surprisingly muted.
Julia Norman, an associate professor of politics and international relations at University College London, said that the messaging appeared to be “trying to operate within a sense of restraint and to not have this ripple out even further.”
Journalist Yashar Ali took it one step further, saying the rhetoric on US college campuses has been more threatening.
“I’m not kidding when I say that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s speech today was less inflammatory than some of those made on US college campuses in the past few weeks,” he posted on X.
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