Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah speaks at a ceremony commemorating a Hezbollah senior commander on June 19, 2024 (Al-Manar TV\Screenshot)
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah warned on June 19 that nowhere in Israel would be safe if a war breaks out, while also threatening Cyprus and hinting at a possible naval blockade in the Mediterranean Sea.
The group has been launching attacks from Lebanon against Israel since the outbreak of the war in the Gaza Strip last October in support of the Hamas Movement and other armed factions in the Palestinian enclave. So far, the Israeli military has limited its response to a small-scale aerial campaign.
Speaking at a ceremony commemorating Hezbollah senior military commander Taleb Abdullah, who was assassinated by Israel last week, Nasrallah stressed that the group does not want “total war” with Israel.
He went on to warn Israel that it must prepare for attacks from the ground, the air and the sea, if it decided to launch a full-fledged offensive against Lebanon.
“No place” in Israel would be spared from the group’s weapons in case of war, Nasrallah warned, saying Hezbollah will fight with “no rules” and “no ceilings.”
“The enemy knows well that we have prepared ourselves for the worst… and that no place… will be spared from our rockets,” the leader said.
“[Israel] knows that what also awaits it in the Mediterranean is very big,” Nasrallah added, without elaborating, possibly hinting that the group could impose a naval blockade on Israeli ports and attack the country’s offshore gas rigs.
Also during his speech, Nasrallah made a surprise threat to Cyprus, saying it had been allowing Israel to use its airports and bases for military exercises and that Hezbollah could consider it “a part of the war” and strike it.
“Opening Cypriot airports and bases to the Israeli enemy to target Lebanon would mean that the Cypriot government is part of the war, and the resistance will deal with it as part of the war,” the leader said.
Cyprus allowed Israel to hold military exercises on its territory in the past. The island also hosts two British bases which were used for military operations in Syria and Yemen in the past. In addition, British spy planes have been flying from Cyprus to conduct operations over Gaza in support of Israel. British warplanes also took off from there to help thwart a massive drone and missile attack launched by Iran against Israel last April.
In response to Nasrallah’s threat, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said that his country “is in no way involved” in any military operations in the region or elsewhere, adding that that the Lebanese leader remarks “don’t in any way reflect what’s being attempted, which is to present a picture that Cyprus is involved in military operations.”
The president stressed that Cyprus was “part of the solution, not part of the problem” and was recognized throughout the Arab world and internationally through such initiatives, such as the Cyprus-Gaza maritime corridor delivering humanitarian aid by ship to the Strip. He also said that there were avenues of communication with both Lebanon and Iran “through diplomatic means.”
The clashes on the Lebanese-Israeli border escalated recently, with the Israeli military approving plans for an offensive in Lebanon earlier this week.
So far, the border clashes have resulted in ten civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of at least 15 IDF soldiers and reservists. On the Lebanese side, more than 500 people have been killed, including 329 fighters of Hezbollah and at least 90 civilians.
Nasrallah’s warnings indicate that Hezbollah is ready to face an Israeli offensive on Lebanon with full force. It does not make sense for Israel to embark on such an adventure at the time, still the country’s leadership may opt for another war in order to stay in office and distract the public from the failure in Gaza.
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hezbollah has the rights on its side while the jews are criminals having stolen the palestine, despite the wording in the balfour declaration, and locked up 2 million palestinians in an open air concentration camp a la hitler, they must go.
the hook nosed faggets are going to walk into another graveyard beating their chests lol. they just admitted they could no longer defeat hamas, while preparing to take on an even more powerful enemy. joos are seriously a dumb pack of fools
ooh ahh hezbollah! ooh, ahh, hezbollah!
us spy planes are constantly flying from cyprus to the black sea and directing ukraine’s activities. for example usv:s. disciplining cyprus would benefit russia from that point of view.
the british have a military base on cyprus and it’s claimed there have been hundreds of spy flights from there over gaza.
white boy club is in big trouble, it is time for the world to wick up and change their system. it is happening slowly but surely.
israel will hit hezbollah with tactical nukes. thats the only way they can prevail in a war with them.
hahaha and what about the retaliation, the nuclear downfall?