HEZBOLLAH’S terror chief is about to break his silence on the Gaza conflict after launching their biggest blitz on Israel yet.
The world is braced to hear whether the Iran-backed militia leader Hassan Nasrallah will declare an all-out war on its embattled neighbour.
APTerror chief Hassan Nasrallah will make his first public announcement about the Hamas-Israel conflict today[/caption]
AFP – GettyThe Iran-backed militia is one of the world’s most heavily-armed militias[/caption]
AFPHezbollah are estimated to have 100,000 rockets in their arsenal – including precision missiles[/caption]
EPAIsrael’s military are pictured firing close to the border with Lebanon[/caption]
So far, Nasrallah, 63, has remained quiet while his senior officials have repeatedly expressed they are ready and willing to join Hamas in its fight against Israel.
The Lebanon-based terror chief is expected to make his first public statement on the conflict at 3pm (1pm GMT) today.
In response, Israel this morning warned that it would “respond to every event along its northern border today and in the days to come”.
“We are on very very high alert,” a military spokesperson announced.
Yesterday, Hezbollah mounted what appeared to be its biggest attacks in four weeks as it pounded Israeli military positions in the country’s north with mortar fire and suicide drones.
The Israeli military said it retaliated with warplanes and helicopter gunships – the skirmish further fuelling fears that the conflict may spiral into an all-out war across the Middle East.
Since Hamas unleashed hell on Israel on October 7, Hezbollah has been engaged in daily border clashes with Israel in “solidarity” with Hamas, with deaths reported on both sides.
It appears to be a calculated tactic to keep Israel’s military busy on its northern border but so far the group has done nothing of the extent to ignite an all-out war.
Last month, Israel ordered civilians in 28 areas to evacuate amid fears the Islamic militia group was on the brink of invading.
Today, those worries are closer than ever.
Hezbollah has a terrifyingly strong military and political grip on Lebanon – and has already fought a devastating war against Israel in 2006 that claimed 1,200 lives.
It is one of the most heavily-armed, non-state groups in the world and is the most formidable of Iran’s allies in their self-styled “Axis of Resistance”.
Jerusalem has long seen the Shi’ite Islamist group as a bigger threat than Hamas owing their far more advanced weaponry, including precision-and long-range missiles.
Hezbollah has an estimated stockpile of 150,000 rockets and any army of 60,000 highly-trained soldiers battle-hardened after their brutal campaign in Syria to help prop up tyrant Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Experts believe it is in possession of hundreds of precision rockets that have ranges of up to 160miles and could strike any part of Israel.
Its huge arsenal is also believed to contain anti-tank, anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles along with 2,600 tanks.
And as the threat grows on Israel’s northern border, The Sun exclusively spoke to an Israeli military official who warned that the “real war” will be fought between Hezbollah and Israel.
“This is where the real war will be. The war in Gaza ended after two days but that was nothing compared to what could happen here,” he said.
“This will be different and will go on for much longer. Hezbollah are a real army, much bigger than Hamas, better trained and better equipped.”
It comes as….
Israel claims to have ‘encircled’ Gaza City as their ground offensive advances all the way to the coast
The refugee camp dubbed a “terrorist stronghold” was targeted for a second time in 24 hours
A top Hamas commander, Ibrahim Biari, was reportedly killed in the blast
The Rafah crossing is expected to reopen today and allow 92 British nationals to leave Gaza
Senior MPs joined the fight to get kids and Brits out of Gaza
The first Brits crossed the Rafah border from Gaza to Egypt yesterday
GettySmoke and flame rise following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza Strip on Thursday[/caption]
GettyWounded civilians in the aftermath of an Israeli air strikes on Gaza[/caption]
GettyA woman and children, all injured, try to get to the safety amid destruction and chaos[/caption]
Meanwhile, US intelligence sources claimed that the Wagner Group could team up with Hezbollah and open up a “second front” in the Israeli war.
The officials said that the brutal Russian mercenaries are planning to provide an air-defence system to the terror group, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The expected terror chief’s speech comes as Israel Defence Forces claim to have completed their “encirclement” of Gaza City as they engage in face-to-face combat in its fight to eliminate Hamas.
Israel’s military added that it had reached a “significant stage in the war” as its troops advanced on three fronts.
On Thursday, tanks massed near the coast in the north, reinforcements crossed to the north east and armoured troops advanced towards the sea in the south.
The same day, Israeli president Benjamin Netanyahu rejected all calls for a ceasefire and declared: “We are advancing north.
“Nothing will stop us”.
Click here to listen to episode 4 of The Sun’s ‘Israel’s War on Terror’ podcast. This week, an Israeli intelligence expert tells us why Hamas’s taking of hostages could turn out to be its undoing.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel today to press for more aid to be allowed into Gaza amid growing alarm over the humanitarian crisis unfolding.
Inside Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry claims that more than 9,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s bombardment of the besieged enclave.
This includes over 3,700 Palestinian children killed so far in the 25 days of fighting,
The UN estimates that 2.3 million people have been driven from their bomb-blitzed homes.
Food, water and fuel are wavering at empty under Israel’s total siege, and overwhelmed hospitals warn they are on the verge of collapse.
Casualties on both sides are expected to rise dramatically as Israeli troops advance towards the dense residential neighbourhoods of Gaza City.
Israel has warned residents to immediately evacuate the Shati refugee camp, which borders Gaza City’s centre.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians remain in the path of fighting in northern Gaza, and have crowded into UN facilities.
The United Nations said yesterday that 20 people were killed after a school-turned-shelter was damaged in the second strike on the Jabalia Refugee Camp in Gaza on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Rafah crossing is expected to open today as nearly a hundred Britons trapped inside Gaza have been approved to cross into Egypt.
The in-laws of Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf are part of the 92 Brits being allowed to leave.
APAnthony Blinken arrived in Israel today to push for humanitarian aid into Gaza[/caption]
GettyPeople search through buildings that were destroyed during Israeli air raids in the southern Gaza Strip today[/caption]
GettyIsrael is storming on with its ground operations inside Gaza[/caption]
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