New Delhi:
In what would become his final speech on September 19, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah denounced Israel’s deadly attacks across Lebanon and framed the situation as a potential “declaration of war.” The chief of the Iran-backed group vowed retaliation, asserting that the Israeli aggressions would be met with “a just punishment.”
This speech came just days before Israeli forces targeted Hezbollah’s central headquarters in an airstrike, killing Nasrallah and senior Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Aqil.
During his address, Nasrallah reflected on the recent Israeli strikes that killed 32 people and destroyed Hezbollah’s communication networks, including radios and pagers across Lebanon. He described the situation as “big tests” and said that “the important thing is to not let the blow knock you down.” He also added that with faith in God, Hezbollah would emerge from this crisis “with heads raised high.”
“The important thing is to not let the blow knock you down, no matter how big and strong it is, and I tell you with all reassurance, confidence and reliance on God that this big, strong and unprecedented bow did not knock us down and will not knock us down, God willing,” Nasrallah said.
Nasrallah’s rhetoric was aimed not only at Israel but also in support of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. “We say to the enemy’s government, army and society, that the Lebanese front will not stop before the aggression on Gaza stops,” he said. “We have been saying this for 11 months.”
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s speech came amid escalating violence along the Israel-Lebanon border, where Israeli and Hezbollah forces have been clashing since the start of the war in Gaza.
On Friday, September 20, Israel carried out a targeted strike, killing Ibrahim Aqil, the commander of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan unit, along with 12 others in Beirut. Aqil had been a senior figure in the organisation and was also wanted by the US for his involvement in the 1983 bombing of the American embassy in Beirut.
The Israeli military described the operation as part of its broader efforts to weaken Hezbollah. As both sides escalated their attacks, fears of a broader war between Israel and Hezbollah intensified, leaving civilians on both sides caught in the crossfire. Residents of border towns in southern Lebanon recounted that the bombardments were the most intense they had witnessed since hostilities began.
International mediators, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have called for restraint to prevent the conflict from spiralling into a full-blown regional war. However, Nasrallah’s last speech made clear that Hezbollah would not back down, with the leader’s words echoing even after his death: “Whatever the sacrifices, whatever the consequences, the resistance in Lebanon will not stop supporting the people of Gaza and the West Bank who are oppressed in that holy land.”
Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon have killed over 1,000 people and displaced nearly half a million since Monday. Meanwhile, in Gaza, the death count has now risen to nearly 42,000, with almost the entire population of the region displaced due to relentless bombardment. The humanitarian crisis has deepened, with food, water and medical supplies dwindling under the continuous siege.