BEIRUT (AP) – Lebanon’s Hezbollah Chief Hassan Nasrallah breaks weeks of silence since war broke out between Hamas and Israel, in a speech that could impact the region as the Gaza conflict rages.
It was Nasrallah’s first public remarks since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war.
The speech came a day after the most significant escalation in clashes between Hezbollah and Israeli forces on the border since the war started and on the same day as a visit to Israel by the top United States diplomat.
In his lengthy remarks, Nasrallah praised the Hamas attack four weeks ago in which the militants attacked farming villages and military posts in southern Israel.
“This great, large-scale operation was purely the result of Palestinian planning and implementation,” Nasrallah said, suggesting his militia had no part in the attack. “The great secrecy made this operation greatly successful.”
Nasrallah’s speech had been widely anticipated throughout the region as a sign of whether the Israel-Hamas conflict would spiral into a regional war.
