What Did Hassan Nasrallah Really Say on Israel-Hamas War, and Why?

Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, the famous Lebanese cleric and the secretary-general of Hezbollah, delivered a speech on the Israel-Hamas war this Friday.

After nearly a month of war between Israel and Hamas, Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, the famous Lebanese cleric and the secretary-general of Hezbollah, finally came to the scene and delivered a speech on the war this Friday.  First of all, it is worth noting that Nasrallah’s words may have not satisfied those who were expecting a sharp and emotional tone from him. Maybe a lot of people expected Nasrallah to directly address Netanyahu and say to him that if you don’t stop attacking Gaza in the next 24 hours, we will attack Tel Aviv and raze you to the ground, or order Hezbollah’s security forces to enter the north of the occupied territories to have a face-to-face battel with Israeli forces.

However, Nasrallah didn’t clearly declare war on Israel, and in addition to assuring the international community that Iran is not responsible for any of Hamas’s actions, he also asserted that Hamas is on its own: “This is a purely Palestinian battle and is not related to any regional or international file.” Indeed, Nasrallah asked the resistance front and every supporter of Palestine to fight the war of public opinion, essentially arguing that the battlefield is online, not in Gaza.

This speech of his is smart because it was a psychological operation targeting the Israeli audience and the residents of the occupied territories, and it surely made them panic over the spread of the conflict. In other words, Nasrallah didn’t say this in words but clearly implied it that the enemy should be scared and kept in the dark.

US will pay he price of being part of the conflict, Nasrallah said

Another point of Nasrallah’s words is the emphasis on the US role in the Israel-Hamas war. He gave a clear message to America that part of the costs of the war in Gaza will surely go to the American soldiers who are present in the region. Nasrallah also informed about the national front in the south of Israel and said that the Yemenis are also targeting strategic parts of Israel along with the resistance front.

In fact, he announced the spread of conflicts on the three fronts of Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen. One of the main points he also noted was when he said that Israel might push Hezbollah into the “civilian warfare”. This means that if the civilian population of Gaza continues to be subject to a military attack, Hezbollah reserves the right to expand the scope of its operations from military targets to civilian targets in order to create deterrence.

Nasrallah’s speech showed he is a smart politician

Nasrallah showed by his speech that he is a smart politician. He tried to make the best use of the situation and convey the main message to the whole world that why the Palestinian resistance was forced to carry out the October 7 operation. Nasrallah also brought up the issue of the crimes of Israel against the Palestinian people to the ears of the world and tried to make those who are neutral feel that they should take a stand or feel ashamed if they support the Israeli government’s actions or stay silent in the face of all the Israeli crimes against Palestinians.

Last but not least, Nasrallah also tried to convey this message that the resistance front is well confident about the power of the Palestinians in confronting Israel, and this is actually the reason why they have not raised the level of confrontation so far. But when it is time, and when the resistance front comes to the conclusion that Palestinians can no longer have an equal fight with Israel, the front will surely come to the scene to join the battle.

Despite the fact that the Israeli military government banned the broadcasting of Nasrallah’s speech, statistics from media monitoring centers in Israel showed that more than two thirds of the Israeli people were listening to the speech.