Hezbollah Secretary-General Hasan Nasrallah as seen during his speech on May 12 on al-Manar TV.
Israel has failed to isolate the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and to cause sedition within the resistance in the Gaza Strip, Hassan Nasrallah, Secretary-General of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, said on May 12.
Nasrallah made the remarks during a ceremony organized to commemorate senior Hezbollah commander Mustafa Badreddin, who died in Syria seven years ago.
“Benjamin Netanyahu aims to escape internal division and the disintegration of his government coalition with this operation in Gaza,” Nasrallah said.
Nasrallah stressed in his speech that the leaders of PIJ have communicated with the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas Movement, in order to “unify” their position and have a “joint reaction for the resistance in Gaza.”
“Despite all the assassinations of its leaders, the resistance movements have not weakened and neither have their capabilities,” the leader assured.
Israel kicked off a military operation against the PIJ on May 9, launching strikes against more than 250 positions of the faction in Gaza and assassinating six of its senior commanders. The operation has so far claimed the lives of 33 Palestinians, including three women and six children.
The PIJ and other armed factions in the strip responded by launching more than 1,000 rockets over the last three days, some of which reached the cities of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Nasrallah revealed during his speech that Hezbollah leadership has been in contact with armed factions in Gaza, voicing full readiness to offer all forms of support to the strip.
“We are in constant contact with the Palestinian factions’ commanders. We keep a close eye on the situation and its developments thanks to our brothers. In addition, we offer, within certain limits, feasible assistance,” the leader said. “But, I must emphasize, when duty forces specific actions or scenarios on us, we won’t hesitate to take an action, God willing. I will stop by this sentence, and we’ll see!”
Last year, Israel launched a similar operation against the PIJ in an attempt to isolate the faction. 49 Palestinains were killed, back then. However, the faction remained undeterred.
The ongoing Israeli military operation will not likely end with a different result. As Nasrallah has pointed out, the PIJ remains on good terms with all other Palestinian armed factions in Gaza, including the Hamas Movement who rules the strip.
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