BEIRUT (Reuters) – Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, speaking for the first time since the Israel-Hamas war erupted, said on Friday that the operation launched by the Hamas militant group against Israel on Oct. 7 was “100% Palestinian”.
A formidable military force backed by Iran, Hezbollah has been engaging Israeli forces along the Lebanon-Israel border in the deadliest escalation since it fought a war with Israel in 2006.
Nasrallah thanked groups in Yemen and Iraq, part of what is known as the “Axis of Resistance”. It includes Shi’ite Muslim Iraqi militias which have been firing at U.S. forces in Syria and Iraq, and Yemen’s Houthis, who have joined in the conflict by firing drones at Israel.
He said the Oct. 7 operation led to an “earthquake” in Israel and that it exposed the country’s weakness.
(Reporting by Laila Bassam, Thomas Perry and Riham al Koussa; Writing by Nadine Awadalla; Editing by Michael Georgy and Angus MacSwan)
