Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said Friday that the U.S. government is fully responsible for Israel's war in Gaza and must be held accountable for these crimes.
The U.S. is "fully responsible for the genocide and war crimes that are being committed in Gaza and Israel is only an instrument to carry it out," the Lebanese leader said in his first televised speech since the Israel-Hamas war erupted.
"What is happening in Gaza shows the brutal and inhumane nature of the occupation regime that [Western governments] have created in our region," he said, condemning Washington's prevention of a cease-fire.
Hezbollah's secretary general also brought up the White House veto prohibiting an international condemnation of the Zionist regime and the U.S. support for Tel Aviv with the supply of aircraft carriers and weapons.
The leader pointed out the legitimacy of the Al-Aqsa Flood battle executed by Hamas last October 7 which was decided and implemented by Palestinians. "This combat is one hundred percent Palestinian and related to the Palestinian cause," he said.
“There is no struggle more legitimate than the struggle with the Zionists. This fight is totally legitimate, ethical, religious and human,” he said.
However, he warned that Tel Aviv "would be committing a great stupidity if it plans to launch a preemptive strike" against Hezbollah, while expressing that an eventual entry of the Lebanese front into the conflict is "a real possibility."
Expanded Confrontations with Israel
Nasrallah warned that confrontations with Israel on Lebanon's southern border will extend beyond current clashes.
Tel Aviv “would be committing great stupidity if it plans to launch a preemptive attack” against Hezbollah, he said, noting that "the war escalation and evolution on the Lebanese front hinge on two fundamental factors, the unfolding events in Gaza and the conduct of Israel towards Lebanon."
Nasrallah added that Israel will not be able to completely destroy Hamas, as it was never able to do with Hezbollah.
According to the leader, the Lebanese Shiite group's confrontations with Israel "have effectively diverted a significant portion of the Israeli forces originally intended for the attack on Gaza." "Approximately one-third of the Israeli troops were successfully attracted to the border with Lebanon," he said.
"The Islamic Resistance has two goals, a cease-fire in Gaza and a victory for Hamas," which is "in the interest of the Palestinians and all the Arab countries," the Hezbollah leader said.