Hezbollah leader warns Israel of war ‘without red lines’ and threatens Cyprus | Wilnesh News

Hezbollah leaders have vowed to fight “without rules and without red lines” if an all-out war breaks out between the Lebanese militant group and Israel, warning neighboring Cyprus not to get drawn into the conflict.

Lebanon and Israel have frequently engaged in cross-border fighting since the start of the Jewish state’s war in the Gaza Strip against the Palestinian militant group Hamas (which, like Hezbollah, is backed by Iran). Fighting has intensified since an Israeli airstrike last week killed top Hezbollah commander Taleb Sami Abdullah and three other Hezbollah operatives.

“Israel knows very well that if there is a war between neighboring countries, no place is safe from our missiles,” Hezbollah Secretary-General Said Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech at an official memorial service on Wednesday. and drone attacks.” That’s according to comments published by Hezbollah-aligned al-Manar TV news outlet.

Hezbollah has now “acquired new weapons,” he added, without giving further details. The group regularly uses rockets, anti-tank missiles and Burkan heavy-warhead rockets, which are modeled after Iran’s Ababeer drones. According to Seth Franzmanan adjunct fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank.

Nasrallah claims Hezbollah numbers now “Well over 100,000 soldiers”, after first stating that they would reach this threshold in 2021. According to the Associated Press. The secretive nature of the group – which wields considerable political, military and social influence in Lebanon – makes verifying these figures challenging. The Lebanese regular army is estimated to have approximately 80,000 personnel. According to data portal IndexMundi.

Hezbollah leaders have also threatened war on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus if EU member states allow Israel to launch military operations from its territory. Nasrallah accused Israel of “carrying out exercises in preparation for war in Lebanon” in Cyprus, without disclosing the source.

“I say the Cypriot government must be careful because opening the airport for the enemy to attack Lebanon means that Cyprus is part of the war and we will deal with it as part of the war.” Mannar quoted Nasrallah as sayingaccording to Google Translate.

Cyprus denies the accusations but strengthen defense cooperation and Participate in joint military exercises Cooperation with Israel was most recent in May 2023.

Cypriot President Nicos Christodoulides responded to Nasrallah on Wednesday by stressing that Cyprus was not involved in the conflict and was, in fact, part of the solution. According to the Cyprus News Agency.

CNBC has contacted the Cyprus Foreign Ministry for comment on whether Cypriot sites are being used for Israeli military activities.

Nasrallah’s speech added to increasingly heated rhetoric over the past week as a surge in missile deals between Israel and Lebanon raised concerns about a wider conflict in the Middle East.

Earlier this week, Hezbollah released a video purportedly taken by its surveillance drone showing military locations in the Israeli port of Haifa. In response, the Israel Defense Forces said on Tuesday that “the operational plan for the offensive against Lebanon has been approved and verified, and a decision has been made regarding the continued strengthening of the force’s readiness in the field,” without elaborating on the scope or extent of the move. Will it involve deploying troops across borders?

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz also warned that Israel was now “very close to the moment of deciding to change the rules” against Hezbollah and Lebanon.

U.S. efforts to de-escalate the conflict and gain momentum for a peace framework for its Gaza enclave have so far proven futile, with senior White House envoy Amos Hochstein meeting with Israeli and Lebanese leaders earlier this week.