Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned that the Lebanese militant group would fight “without rules and without borders” if the conflict with Israel escalated.
In a televised address, Nasrallah also threatened neighboring Cyprus for the first time: Hezbollah would consider the country “part of the war” if Israel continued to allow it to use Cypriot airports and bases for military exercises.
Since the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip began in October, the Iranian-backed militant group and Israeli forces have exchanged fire almost daily.
The speech comes at a time of growing fears of an all-out war between Hezbollah and Israel, with belligerent rhetoric increasing and the Lebanese militant group this week releasing drone surveillance footage of sites in Israel.
Cross-border clashes intensified last week when Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets at Israel after killing one of the group’s senior commanders in an airstrike.
Nasrallah said Hezbollah had “information that Israel is conducting exercises in Cyprus and Cypriot airports,” and he had asked Lebanese officials to raise the issue with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides during his visit last month. “If Israel uses (Cypriot) air bases to attack Lebanon, (Cyprus) will be drawn into the war,” he added.
Israel has held joint military exercises, including one in 2023, with Cyprus, which lies in the Mediterranean Sea near Lebanon. The two countries signed an agreement to intensify defense cooperation that same year, in which Greece also participated.
“The Cypriot government should be aware that opening Cypriot airports and bases to the Israeli enemy to attack Lebanon means that the Cypriot government becomes part of the war,” Nasrallah said.
Christodoulides rejected this, telling reporters that his country was “in no way involved in the hostilities,” adding that Cyprus was part of the “solution” with its humanitarian corridor to Gaza starting from its port.
Nasrallah also said that while they do not want “all-out war” with Israel, his group has more than enough capacity to withstand a broader confrontation with its southern neighbor.
“Israel should wait for us in the event of a major war on land, in the air and at sea,” he said. Nasrallah reiterated that Hezbollah’s condition for a cessation of hostilities on the Lebanese-Israeli border was peace in the besieged Palestinian enclave of Gaza.
“A ceasefire in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen requires one thing: an end to the war in Gaza,” Nasrallah said, referring to the regional hostilities that erupted after Hamas’ deadly attack on October 7 and Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza. “We will continue to support Gaza and are ready for anything.”
The comments come a day after the Israeli military said senior officers had approved “operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon.”
Despite escalating clashes that have caused tens of thousands of refugees on both sides of the border and casualties in Lebanon and Israel, the two sides are not engaged in open war. The United States is leading a diplomatic initiative to de-escalate the situation. White House adviser Amos Hochstein visited both countries this week.
However, Israeli officials have repeatedly said they are ready to intervene militarily if there is no diplomatic solution. The military said on Tuesday that in addition to approving offensive plans, officers had also made decisions to “increase the readiness of troops on the ground.”
The announcement came after Hezbollah, one of the world’s most heavily armed non-state actors, released a nine-minute video on Tuesday of footage it said was taken by its surveillance drones in parts of Israel, including the port of the northern Israeli city of Haifa.
In addition to views of the port, which is about 30 kilometers from the Lebanese border, the undated images also included pictures of other military infrastructure, according to Hezbollah.
Hezbollah controls southern Lebanon and is the strongest political and military force in the country.
In his speech on Wednesday, Nasrallah said the drone footage was “proof that we have the capabilities” to attack any location in Israel. He added that his group had collected hours of surveillance footage and was flying “many more drones.”
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel was preparing “for any scenario” after holding talks with the commander of the military’s Northern Command on Wednesday.
“We must all remember that Hezbollah started a war against us on October 8, the day after Hamas (attacked Israel), and has not stopped (attacking Israel) since then,” Gallant said.
“We have a duty to change the situation in the north and ensure the safe return of our citizens to their homes.”
Additional reporting by Malaika Kanaaneh Tapper in Beirut
