Nasrallah: Hundreds of Thousands of Arabs and Muslims Ready for War if Israel Attacks

The Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, warned Israel that in any future war with Lebanon, Syria, or Gaza, "tens of thousands and possibly hundreds of thousands of jihadist forces from Iraq, Yemen, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan" will join the fight. Nasrallah spoke on the evening of June 22, coinciding with the last Friday of Ramadan, designated as "Quds Day" by the Islamic Republic of Iran to express solidarity with the Palestinians. According to Nasrallah, Israel must understand that any war it starts will not be confined to Lebanon or Syria; it will involve many fighters from across the Arab and Islamic world. He stated that all of Israel is now within the range of Hezbollah's rockets. Nasrallah's remarks came just days after assessments by Israeli officials and senior military commanders at the Herzliya security-political conference regarding the situation at Israel's borders with Lebanon and Syria. Israeli Air Force Commander General Amir Eshel stated last week that in any future war, Israel must deploy "all its capabilities" from the outset. Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman also said at Herzliya that in any future war, whether in the north or south, Israel must emerge victorious. However, Lieberman also claimed that Israel is "not seeking war in spring, summer, or winter." In response, Nasrallah said, "He knows very well that there is no victory for Israel in war; he admits to Israel's defeat against the resistance groups; and he himself says that since 1967, Israel has not won any war." Nasrallah questioned why Lieberman, who constantly threatens, now speaks of a lack of will for war in Gaza and Lebanon, stating that he knows Israel will pay a heavy price. The Hezbollah leader added that Israel's hope for establishing relations with the Arab world comes before resolving the Palestinian issue. He also mentioned that there are conspiracies to isolate Iran and turn it into the enemy of the Arab world instead of Israel. Nasrallah described the normalization of relations between Arab countries and Israel as a "very serious development." He criticized the "detestable" Saudi regime and defended Iran, stating that the new Saudi crown prince has threatened to bring war into Iran, an action intended to be carried out through Takfiri terrorist groups, but the Saudis are too cowardly and weak to confront Iran. Nasrallah labeled Saudi interventions in Yemen as a failure, asserting that Yemen is attacked due to its strategic importance, especially Bab el-Mandeb, and because the Yemeni people stand with the Palestinian nation. For the first time, he claimed that there is "conclusive evidence" that Israeli fighter jets are also participating in bombings in Yemen. He emphasized that the fight against terrorism should start with Saudi Arabia, urging the people of the region to prevent Saudi Arabia from normalizing relations with Israel, stop the war in Yemen, and refrain from interfering in Bahrain, Syria, and Iran. Attendees in the Shia neighborhood of Dahiyeh in southern Beirut, who were watching Nasrallah's speech via closed-circuit television from his hideout, shouted "Death to Al Saud." Nasrallah appreciated that "Iran is the main supporter of Palestine and resistance movements in the region," adding that despite all sanctions and political pressures from the West, "Iran continues to support the Palestinian cause" and "still pursues this support regardless of any pressure." The Secretary-General of Hezbollah, whose thousands of fighters have been present in the Syrian civil war in support of the Damascus regime and have suffered many casualties, described the regime of Bashar al-Assad as important for the "resistance axis." According to Nasrallah, Iran's recent "precise missile attacks" on "terrorist positions" in Deir ez-Zor "surprised decision-making centers in the world." General Gadi Eisenkot, Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army, stated last week at the Herzliya conference that Hezbollah remains the "main threat" to Israel and currently has a presence in two hundred villages and towns in southern Lebanon, along with thousands of rockets. Eisenkot noted, "In the past, we have acted to prevent weapons from reaching Hezbollah; we will do so in the future as well." General Hertzi Levy, head of Israeli military intelligence, also stated at the Herzliya conference that "we clearly see that Hezbollah is establishing military industries based on Iranian knowledge; it is producing weapons and transferring them to southern Lebanon; Hezbollah has reached just a few meters from our northern border." In the last war between Israel and Hezbollah in the summer of 2006, 121 soldiers and 44 Israeli civilians were killed, along with hundreds on the Lebanese side, resulting in significant destruction in Lebanon.