Hezbollah says it's 'fully prepared' to join Hamas in war with Israel
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Lebanon-based terror group Hezbollah says it is “fully prepared” to join Hamas in its war against Israel, as military officials in the Jewish country prepare for an all-out ground assault on the Gaza Strip.
Speaking at a rally in which hundreds of people had gathered in solidarity with Hamas, waving the Palestinian and Hezbollah flags while chanting, “Death to Israel,” Deputy Chief Naim Qassem vowed Lebanon would join the fight “when the time comes for action.”
He told supporters in a Beirut suburb that Hezbollah was rejecting foreign nations’ calls for the Lebanese militant group to not get involved, as Hezbollah’s leader was meeting with Iran’s foreign minister to discuss the situation.
“The behind-the-scenes calls with us by great powers, Arab countries, envoys of the United Nations, directly and indirectly, telling us not to interfere will have no effect,” Qassem said.
“Hezbollah knows its duties perfectly well,” he continued. “We are prepared and ready, fully ready, and we are following developments moment by moment.”
“The question being asked, which everyone is waiting for, is what Hezbollah will do and what will its contribution be?
“We will contribute to the confrontation within our plan — when the time comes for any action, we will carry it out.”
The group has already exchanged fire with Israeli forces on the Lebanese border, as the IDF tries to fight back against Hamas terrorists.
Israel-Hamas war: How we got here
2005: Israel unilaterally withdraws from the Gaza Strip more than three decades after winning the territory from Egypt in the Six-Day War.
2006: Terrorist group Hamas wins a Palestinian legislative election.
2007: Hamas seizes control of Gaza in a civil war.
2008: Israel launches military offensive against Gaza after Palestinian terrorists fired rockets into the town of Sderot.
2023: Hamas launches the biggest attack on Israel in 50 years, in an early-morning ambush Oct. 7, firing thousands of rockets and sending dozens of militants into Israeli towns.
Terrorists killed more than 1,200 Israelis, wounded more than 4,200, and took at least 200 hostage.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to announce, “We are at war,” and vowed Hamas would pay “a price it has never known.”
The Gaza Health Ministry — which is controlled by Hamas — reported at least 3,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 12,500 injured since the war began.
In response, Israel struck an observation post belonging to the group, as well as Lebanese villages — in the most serious escalation between the two countries since 2006.
But so far, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has not commented on the situation.
He met with Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian on Friday morning to discuss the ongoing war.
It is unclear what the two men said at the meeting, but afterward, Amirabdollahian said the US would need to rein in Israel if it wants to prevent an all-out regional war, according to Politico.
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He has previously claimed Israel was committing “war crimes” in Gaza, and said Iran has asked Egypt, the United Nations and other aid groups to allow it to send humanitarian aid to the region.
Amirabdollahian is expected to meet with Syrian officials about the situation.
Meanwhile, Israel has urged those living in Gaza City to flee their homes as it prepares for a ground attack.
Leaflets warning citizens of an “imminent attack” were dropping into residential areas Friday morning, as panicked families grabbed their belongings and fled.
The IDF also issued a statement warning Gazans, “The evacuation is for your own safety.”
It added that Hamas terrorists are hiding inside tunnels underneath Gaza City and inside residential buildings.
Follow along with The Post’s live blog for the latest on Hamas’ attack on Israel
“In the following days, the IDF will continue to operate significantly in Gaza City and make extensive efforts to avoid harming civilians,” the IDF said.
But Hamas has called on Gazans to stay in their homes, as it dismissed the evacuation orders as “fake propaganda” — even as Israel’s military masses some 360,000 soldiers on the Gaza border.
The short-notice evacuation warning came as Israel has hammered Gaza with 6,000 bombs in retribution for Hamas’ surprise attack over the weekend that claimed the lives of more than 1,300 Israelis.
Israel has halted deliveries of food, water, fuel and electricity to Gaza’s 2.3 million people, and Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz said Thursday there would be no exceptions to the siege without freedom for the hostages taken by Hamas.
With Post wires
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