Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, stated that the Houthi group’s targeting of commercial ships in the Red Sea should continue following recent Western strikes on Houthi sites in Yemen. In a speech broadcast by local Lebanese media on Sunday, Nasrallah suggested that U.S. President Joe Biden is mistaken if he believes that his latest strikes would halt Houthi attacks. This remark refers to the recent American and British strikes executed in the last two days.
Nasrallah also commented on Israel, noting that the country is “sunk in failure and in a deep hole,” as confirmed by its analysts. He referenced Israel’s military objectives in the Gaza Strip, aimed at politically and militarily defeating Hamas and securing the return of prisoners, stating that Israel has not achieved any victory. He further mentioned that the losses of the Israelis are significant, especially after Tel Aviv announced about 4,000 permanent injuries in the Israeli army over 100 days, and speculated that the number could reach 30,000.
Nasrallah linked the cessation of attacks from Yemen, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon to the end of the Israeli war on Gaza. In the past two days, Yemen has witnessed over 60 precise American and British strikes by air and sea, targeting dozens of Houthi sites to disable their military capabilities.
Since the outbreak of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, the Houthis have carried out dozens of attacks on commercial ships navigating in the Red Sea. These attacks have hindered navigation in this internationally important passage, through which 12% of global trade passes, and have caused an increase in transportation costs due to shipping companies rerouting their ships around South Africa.
In response to these Houthi escalations, joint British and American strikes on Friday and Saturday targeted six provinces, including the capital Sanaa, as well as Hudaydah and Taiz in the northwest, and Saada and Dhamar in the north.
The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel has been a long-standing and complex issue, deeply rooted in the regional politics of the Middle East. Hezbollah, a Shia Islamist political and militant organization, was established in Lebanon in 1985 and is known to be supported and funded by Iran. The group has been actively involved in various conflicts and has opposed the government and policies of Israel since its inception. One of Hezbollah’s primary goals, as stated in its 1985 manifesto, is the elimination of the state of Israel.
