Hezbollah renews its pledge 'to stand by the Palestinian people'

BEIRUT — On the occasion of the second anniversary of Hamas' al-Aqsa Flood operation attacking southern Israel, its Lebanon ally, Hezbollah, reiterated its intention to "stand by the steadfast Palestinian people," stopping short, however, of referring to any military support.

"Hezbollah renews its pledge to remain by the side of the Palestinian people against the criminal Zionist entity, supported by an arrogant and barbaric American tyrant," a statement released by the party on Tuesday read, "and in the face of a submissive and shackled world that watches the massacres, killings and destruction without batting an eye."

According to Hezbollah, Israel's war on Gaza, which has set the region ablaze and during which Israel has killed more than 67,000 people in the besieged enclave, "has revealed the true face of the criminal Zionist entity ... openly exposing its expansionist and aggressive plans.'

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The day following Hamas' operation, of which Hezbollah insisted it had no prior knowledge, the party unilaterally opened a 'support front' along the southern border with Israel.

Almost a year later, Israel escalated what had initially been a relatively contained exchange of fire across the border into a full out war, launching a sweeping bombing campaign across southern and eastern Lebanon, on Beirut's southern suburbs, and even within Beirut proper.

The all-out war ended with a cease-fire agreement on Nov. 27, 2024, but Israel has continued its attacks against Lebanon to this day.

Hezbollah made no mention of its Oct. 8, 2023, support front in Tuesday's statement. "We in Hezbollah remain faithful to the legacy of resistance and to the sacrifices of the martyrs who fell on the road to Jerusalem," it said.

In line with the speech made by Hebollah leader Naim Qassem in mid-September calling on Saudi Arabia to "open a new page," Hezbollah's latest statement calls for "the cooperation of Arab and Islamic countries in the face of this [Israeli] enemy, which understands only the language of force and confrontation."

The statement ends with "a tribute to all those who have supported and helped Gaza and its people," namely Iran, Yemen, Iraq and the "free peoples of the world who raised their voices for Palestine and carried to the world the cries and pains of Gaza’s children and women," and promises that "Palestine will fully return to its people."