Hezbollah Leader Affirms Confrontation in Lebanon Will Not End Before Ceasefire in Gaza

JAKARTA - Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah promised to continue confrontation with Israeli troops in the border areas of the two countries, until attacks on Gaza are stopped and there is a ceasefire.

Nasrallah delivered a televised address to mark one week since the death of an influential Hezbollah commander in an Israeli attack in southern Lebanon.

He said, "only a ceasefire in Gaza" would open up the possibility of ending the firefight on the Lebanon-Israel border, reported by CNN, January 15.

"We'll see what happens after that," he added.

Furthermore, Hassan Nasrallah also criticized Washington D.C regarding the US and UK attacks in Yemen this week which were aimed at stopping Houthi rebel attacks on the main commercial shipping route in the Red Sea.

Nasrallah, who is the Houthi's main ally and is equally backed by Iran, said the offensive would turn the Red Sea "into a battlefield."

Commenting on recent threats from Israel's war cabinet to expand the war to Lebanon, Nasrallah struck a defiant tone.

"It is Israel who should be afraid of war. We will not remain silent when Israel attacks Lebanon," stressed the Hezbollah leader, adding that the paramilitary group was not afraid of conflict.