In his final speech on 19 September, Hezbollah leader Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah condemned Israel’s deadly strikes across Lebanon and presented the situation as a possible “declaration of war”. The head of the Iran-backed group vowed retaliation, and said Israeli aggression would be “appropriately punished.”
The speech came just days after Israeli forces targeted Hezbollah’s central headquarters in an airstrike, killing Nasrallah and senior Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Akil.
During his address, Nasrallah reflected on recent Israeli attacks that killed 32 people and destroyed Hezbollah’s communications networks, including radios and pagers, across Lebanon. He described the situation as a “big test” and said that “the important thing is not to let this setback get you down.” He also said that with faith in God, Hezbollah would emerge from the crisis “with its head held high.”
“The important thing is not to let the blow knock you down, no matter how big and strong it is, and I tell you with full assurance, faith and dependence on God that this big, strong and unprecedented bow will knock us down And Nasrallah said, God willing, He will not let us down.
Nasrallah’s rhetoric was aimed at supporting not only Israel but also the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. “We tell the enemy’s government, army and society that the Lebanese front will not stop until the attack on Gaza stops,” he said. “We have been saying this for 11 months.”
Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah’s speech came amid rising violence along the Israel-Lebanon border, where Israeli and Hezbollah forces have been clashing since the start of the war in Gaza.
On Friday, September 20, Israel launched a targeted strike, killing Ibrahim Akil, commander of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan unit, and 12 others in Beirut. Akil was a senior figure in the organization and was also wanted by the US for his involvement in the 1983 bombing of the US embassy in Beirut.
The Israeli military described the operation as part of its broader efforts to weaken Hezbollah. Fears of a wider war between Israel and Hezbollah grew as both sides escalated their attacks, leaving civilians on both sides caught in the crossfire. Residents of border towns in southern Lebanon reported that the bombardment was the most intense since the beginning of hostilities.
International mediators, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have called for restraint to prevent the conflict from escalating into a full-scale regional war. Although Nasrallah’s last speech made it clear that Hezbollah would not retreat, the leader’s words continue to echo after his death: “No matter what the sacrifices, no matter what the consequences, the resistance in Lebanon will continue to support the people of Gaza and the West Bank. will never stop supporting those who are persecuted in that holy land.”
Israeli air strikes on Lebanon since Monday have killed more than 1,000 people and displaced nearly half a million people. Meanwhile, in Gaza, the death toll now stands at around 42,000, with continued bombing displacing almost the entire population of the area. The humanitarian crisis has deepened as food, water and medical supplies become scarce due to the ongoing siege.
