On November 3, thousands of people gathered in a square on the southern outskirts of the Lebanese capital to watch a televised speech by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
It is Mr Nasrallah’s first speech to his supporters since the beginning of the conflict between Israel and Hamas – which was triggered by Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on October 7.
The speech came a day after escalating tensions between Hezbollah and Israeli forces on the Israel-Lebanon border and on the same day as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Israel.
On November 3, thousands of people gathered in a square on the southern outskirts of the Lebanese capital to watch a televised speech by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Photo: AP
In his lengthy speech, Mr. Nasrallah praised the Hamas attack four weeks earlier: “This was the result of great, large-scale operation planning and execution. Great secrecy made this activity a great success.” According to the AP, these words mean that Hezbollah was not involved in the October 7 attack.
According to Mr Nasrallah, the events of 7 October showed that “Israel is weaker than a spider’s web” and after a month of fighting, the country was “unable to make any achievements”. The Hezbollah leader said the biggest mistake Israel is making in the conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip is pursuing goals it cannot achieve.
Mr Nasrallah also criticized America’s strong support for Israel in its bombing of the Gaza Strip, which killed more than 9,000 people, mostly civilians.
Since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began, Hezbollah has taken deliberate steps to engage Israeli forces along the Lebanese border, but not to the point of resulting in an all-out war.
The Israeli military confirmed that by 3 November, 7 of its soldiers and one civilian had been killed along the northern border. More than 50 Hezbollah members are believed to have been killed on the Lebanese side of the border.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Blinken said more needed to be done to “protect Palestinian civilians” in the Gaza Strip. Speaking to reporters in Tel Aviv on 3 November, Mr Blinken stressed: “We need to immediately increase permanent humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip.”
Israel has allowed more than 260 trucks carrying food and medicine through the border, but aid workers say that is not enough. Israeli authorities currently do not allow the transportation of fuel into the Gaza Strip, causing supplies for hospitals to rapidly deplete.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it killed Mustafa Dalloul, commander of Hamas’ Sabra-Tel al-Hawa battalion, in an overnight airstrike in the Gaza Strip. According to the IDF, Dalloul “played a key role in supporting the fight against IDF forces in the Gaza Strip.”
