Wider Middle East conflict 'realistic possibility': Hezbollah's Nasrallah

Hezbollah leader Nasrallah delivers his first address since Israel's war on Gaza. / Photo: Reuters

Speaking for the first time since the Israel's war on Gaza erupted, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has warned that a wider conflict in the Middle East was a realistic possibility in a speech that was expected to indicate whether his group would wage a full-fledged war against Israel.

It was “100% Palestinian in terms of decision and execution,” Nasrallah said, responding to claims that the Iran-backed group had a hand in the attacks.

Hezbollah has been engaging Israeli forces along the Lebanon-Israel border in the deadliest escalation since it fought a war with Israel in 2006.

It has been escalating day by day, forcing Israel to keep its forces near the Lebanese border instead of Gaza and the occupied West Bank, Nasrallah said in a televised address on Friday.

"What's happening on the border might seem modest but is very important."

US blamed

Nasrallah blamed the United States for Israel's war in Gaza and the high civilian death toll and that a de-escalation in the besieged enclave was vital to prevent regional war.

The Hezbollah leader said his group is not deterred by the US warnings to stay out of the Israel's war on Gaza. "Your fleets in the Mediterranean will not scare us, he said, adding that Hezbollah is prepared for all options.

Nasrallah thanked pro-Iranian militia groups in Yemen and Iraq, part of what is known as the "Axis of Resistance."