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On January 31, 2024, Lebanese Hizbullah's Al-Ahed news website published[1] a report about a speech delivered by Nabil Qaouk, a member of Hizbullah's Central Committee, in a ceremony to honor Islam Muhammad Zalzali aka Abu Saleh, a "martyr on the path to Jerusalem" killed on January 26 in an Israeli strike.[2] The ceremony was conducted in the village of Deir Qanoun En Nahr, in Lebanon's South governorate.
According to the report, Qaouk said that Hizbullah has escalated its "high-quality attacks" in response to Israeli escalation. Threatening Israel, he added that the "resistance" is prepared for "all war and escalation possibilities, quantitatively and qualitatively," asserting: "We are present in the field. The men of Allah are lions of the battlefield, heroes of war, and creators of its victories."
Qaouk stressed that the "resistance in Lebanon" would continue its attacks as long as the "aggression" on Gaza continued, adding that the "people of resistance" are united in confronting the Israeli military campaign until it stops. He stated: "This is a steadfast stance despite all the military, media, and political pressures, and it will not change."
He further stated: "The Israeli enemy threatens and wants to achieve gains from the position of defeat. What encourages him to threaten is the official Arab position, as several Arab countries are still extending a helping hand to the enemy, and there are Arab countries that normalized [relations with Israel] and have yet to sever their relations with it, while the flags of the Israeli entity are still fluttering in their capitals."
Qaouk concluded: "Firstly it is necessary to prosecute America, because it is the main partner and decision-maker of lengthening the war… [It] has chosen to be an enemy of Palestine, the nations of the ummah [Islamic nation], and the holy sites, and today it pays the price of its aggressive policy."
A January 25 report on the Al-Nur Radio website quoted Qaouk threatening that Hizbullah plans to increase the pace of attacks against Israel.[3] A January 27 article on the pro-Hizbullah Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar reported that Western officials recently met with a top Hizbullah leader in Beirut, in a failed attempt to stop the group's attacks against Israel.[4]
[1] Alahednews, January 31, 2024.
[2] January 26, 2024.
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