Global Courant
Hassan Nasrallah said security in the Red Sea and regional countries depends on ending Israel’s war on Gaza.
The leader of the Lebanese group Hezbollah has said that US actions in the Red Sea will damage the safety of all shipping as the area has now become a conflict zone.
“The US must realize that the security of the Red Sea, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen all depend on one thing: ending the war in Gaza,” Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised address on Sunday.
“Rather than providing a solution to the symptoms, they should address the root cause,” he added.
Nasrallah was referring to a joint operation between the US and British air forces that launched a series of strikes against Yemen on Friday and Saturday, targeting Houthi rebels who have attacked ships linked to Israel during the war on Gaza.
The attacks, which the US says targeted Houthi facilities, have further fueled fears of a regional spillover from the war in Gaza. The Houthis have also vowed to retaliate.
The Houthi attacks on international shipping have disrupted global trade and raised costs, prompting Western countries to intervene.
The rebels say their actions are a response to Israel’s war and have vowed to continue as long as the bombing of the Gaza Strip continues.
Both the Houthis and Hezbollah are supported by Iran and are also part of the so-called “axis of resistance” against Israel.
‘Theater of battle’
On Sunday, Nasrallah said the US was wrong if it thought the Houthis would stop confronting Israel in the Red Sea.
“The more dangerous thing is that what the Americans have done in the Red Sea will damage the safety of all maritime navigation, even the ships that are not going to Palestine, even the ships that are not Israeli, even the ships that have nothing to do with it . the case,” he said, “because the sea has become a theater of battles, missiles, drones and warships.”
The Lebanon-based group has so far refrained from joining the war. However, the country has put high pressure on Israel by carrying out almost daily attacks along the southern border with its neighbor.
Although firefights from both sides have been largely confined to the border area, the risk of a major escalation remains.
In the first week of January, tensions over such a risk reached new heights after a senior Hamas leader was killed in a Beirut suburb in a targeted attack widely blamed on Israel. This was followed by the killing of at least three other Hezbollah members, including a senior commander.
Adding to the military pressure, the ongoing firefights have forced tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border to evacuate. More than 96,000 Israelis now live in temporary housing, a condition that Hezbollah says works to its advantage.
“Our front is inflicting losses on the enemy by putting pressure on the displaced people whose voices have become louder,” Nasrallah said.
“This is a key strategy for Hezbollah,” said Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan, reporting from Ebel el-Saqi, in southern Lebanon. “All those Israelis who have had to leave their homes in the north and cannot come back. (Nasrallah) wants them to rise up and put pressure on the Israeli government.”
