Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Lebanese Hezbollah, promises “surprises” for Israel

Hassan Nasrallah continues to claim the threat from Hezbollah. The leader of a powerful Lebanese faction on Friday promised “surprises” for Israel, whose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had “unexpected plans” to counter the powerful pro-Iranian faction. “It’s our turn to talk about surprises. He (Netanyahu) should expect surprises from us (..),” the leader of the Islamist group said live.

Hezbollah has carried out daily attacks on Israel since the Gaza war began on October 7 in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas. In response, the IDF is launching strikes in Lebanon and targeting Hezbollah officials. “We have killed hundreds of Hezbollah agents,” Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday. We have detailed, important and even amazing plans for this northern front.

“I would like to tell Netanyahu (…) and the enemy government that we have studied and weighed all possible options for the development of events and all the scenarios that you could resort to (…),” added Hassan Nasrallah. He assured that it was Hamas and Iran’s other allies in the region that, on the contrary, “surprised” Israel, “which has the most powerful army and intelligence services in the region.”

“He will lead his country to disaster”

“Hamas surprised you” by attacking Israeli territory on October 7, Hezbollah “surprised you by opening” the Lebanese front the next day, he added. “Yemen surprised you” with its rebels attacking ships in the Red Sea, “Iraq surprised you and Iran when you bombed its consulate” in Damascus, he listed. On April 1, an attack attributed to Israel on the Iranian consulate in Damascus killed seven Iranian soldiers. On April 13, Tehran responded with an unprecedented attack on Israel.

The Hezbollah leader, speaking at a ceremony in memory of Iranian President Ebrahim Raissi and his associates killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday, repeated that his formation had opened a front with Israel “to support the Gaza Strip.” “We want the war to end at any moment,” he assured. “But if he (Netanyahu) is determined to start a war, he will lead his country to disaster.”

More than seven months of cross-border violence in Lebanon have killed at least 430 people, including 279 Hezbollah fighters and at least 82 civilians, according to AFP. On the Israeli side, the violence killed at least 14 soldiers and 11 civilians, authorities said. In recent days, Hezbollah has stepped up its attacks on military positions in northern Israel, using drones and new weapons.