“If the Zionist regime decides to expand the war, it will receive a strong slap and an unforgettable lesson, because the enemy knows that the confrontation and [Hezbollah’s] response will be very extensive,” Deputy Secretary General of Lebanon’s Hezbollah Resistance Movement said, according to the Elnashra website.

The senior Hezbollah official made the comments after the Zionist forces chief of staff Herzi Halevi said on Wednesday that the likelihood of a war with Lebanon in the coming months is much higher than it was in the past.

Sheikh Qassem said that threats against Hezbollah are useless and do not change anything, stressing that the Resistance movement is fully prepared if the regime extends the war.

The Hezbollah official also reiterated the movement’s support for the Palestinians in Gaza where the Israeli regime has been pressing ahead with its military campaign since early October. 

He said that the Israeli regime is the enemy of Palestine, Lebanon, the Arab world, and Muslims, adding that Hezbollah continues to back the Palestinian Resistance in their fight against the regime.

Sheikh Qassem meanwhile criticized the United States for supporting the Israeli regime in its war on Gaza, saying that the war is going ahead with the greenlight of the US, which is helping Tel Aviv achieve its goals.