FILE: Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
"We cannot overlook it and the matter does not need a lot of talking. It will not remain without a response or punishment and the battlefield and days and nights will prove this," Nasrallah said, in a televised address marking the third anniversary of the assassination of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and top Iraqi militant commander Abou Mahdi al-Muhandis.
"Those who think of war with us will, God willing, regret it, and war with us will be costly. So far we have been taking Lebanese interests into consideration, but should war be waged on Lebanon, the Lebanese interests require that we go with the war to the end," Nasrallah added.
"Until now, we have been fighting on the front with controlled calculations and that's why we are paying a hefty price from the souls of our young men, but if the enemy thinks of waging a war on Lebanon, we will fight without restraint, without rules, without limits and without restrictions," Hezbollah's leader warned.
Comment: One could say that Israel has, intermittently, been waging war on Lebanon for some time; both covertly, and overtly. Some analysts have commented that Hezbollah intends for their response to be measured, so as to not detract from Israel's genocide in Gaza: Forbes asks: 'Was Israel responsible for the Beirut explosion?'
"We do not fear war," he stressed.
Addressing Hezbollah's fighters in south Lebanon, Nasrallah said: "We salute and appreciate all those who are fighting on the border and we pride ourselves in them. We tell them that their blood and sacrifices will only have blessed results that will bring welfare to Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and the entire (Islamic) nation."
"The resistance in Lebanon was not deterred on October 8 when it opened the front and it will not be deterred," he emphasized.
Noting that Israel "has not been able to achieve a victory in Gaza for the past three months," Nasrallah said "it tried to present a victory image yesterday through the assassination of Sheikh Saleh."
He added that Israel is also not acknowledging "thousands" of casualties on Lebanon's front.
During nearly three months of fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the Israeli army has also been exchanging cross-border fire with Hezbollah, which is allied with the Palestinian militants and Iran.
Lebanese authorities and Hamas accused Israel of killing Salah al-Arouri in Beirut's southern suburbs on Tuesday along with six other Hamas operatives.
Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari did not directly comment on Arouri's killing but said the military was "highly prepared for any scenario" in its aftermath.
The attack sparked fears of a broader conflagration because Arouri is the most high-profile figure to be killed since fighting in Gaza began in October, and his death came in the first strike on the Lebanese capital since hostilities started.
Comment: The comment regarding 'thousands' of casualties is notable, because judging by footage shared by both Israel, and Hamas, as well as the IDF's lack of progress with its ground invasion, there's reason to conclude that Israel is indeed suffering much higher fatalities and casualties than they, obviously, are willing to admit.
Back on the 11th of December the IDF claimed that just 401 Israeli troops had been killed since the 7th of October, and at least 1/5 of those deaths were due to friendly fire.