Today, Wednesday, Jan. 3, at 6 p.m. Beirut time, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah will deliver his third speech since the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas on Oct. 7.
Why this speech is important:
The Secretary-General is expected to define tonight, during a highly anticipated speech, the nature of the response to the killing of the Hamas deputy leader on Lebanese territory.
Following the killing of Saleh al-Arouri, the Hamas deputy leader, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, the question on everyone's mind is how far Hassan Nasrallah will go in his retaliation. Hezbollah has so far tried its best to avoid an open war, considering the southern front as a "support front" to alleviate the Israeli offensive on Gaza, according to the Shiite party's rhetoric.
The speech was originally scheduled to mark the fourth anniversary of the death of Iran's most powerful military commander, General Qasem Soleimani, who was killed by a US air strike in Iraq on Jan. 3, 2020.
When is the speech?: For those following the speech live in English, it will begin at 6:00 p.m. Beirut time (5:00 p.m. Paris time, 11:00 a.m. New York time) today, Wednesday, January 3.
How to follow LIVE: You can follow the speech live in English on this link.
Bonus: Our reporters will be on the ground to gather reactions from the Lebanese people, and our analysts will be behind their desks for real-time analysis of the Hezbollah leader's speech.
Some recommended readings before this speech:
- Saleh al-Arouri’s assassination: Israel tightens grip on Hezbollah
- How has Israeli media reacted to the killing of Saleh al-Arouri?