With the Gaza conflict still raging in its eighth month, Iran-backed Lebanese outfit Hezbollah is reportedly preparing for a surprise attack on Israel. The group's secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah has warned Israel to be ready for surprises in a televised speech.
"You must expect surprises from our resistance," he said on Friday, which marks the 24th anniversary of Resistance and Liberation Day.
Hezbollah, which emerged as a strong force during the Lebanon civil war, had been engaged in fighting Israel in a show of support for the Palestinian cause and Gaza.
Israel has been conducting a military offensive in Gaza since the October 7 attack by the Palestinian Hamas group left over a thousand dead in bordering Israeli towns.
But Israel's own leaders have admitted they did not achieve any of its goals in the Gaza war, asserted Nasrallah. He was referring to Israeli National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi's admission that they have not achieved any of the strategic goals and it may take years.
Nasrallah also listed the setbacks for Israel, which is backed by the West.
"The recognition of the Palestinian state by a number of European countries is a great loss for the occupation," Middle East Monitor cited him as saying.
This recognition, he said, was one of the results of the "Al-Aqsa Flood battle", the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
"One of the results of the Al-Aqsa Flood and the steadfastness of the resistance is that today Israel is appearing before the ICC (International Criminal Court)," he said.
Nasrallah accused Israel of not respecting international resolutions and launching violent raids on Rafah despite the International Court of Justice (ICJ) order to immediately halt its military offensive.
Hanegbi, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's top aide, had said after the ICJ ruling that his country has the right to defend itself.
