The Lebanese Iranian backed militant group Hezbollah have warned on Friday that they are “prepared and ready” for any “action” in Israel.
On Friday Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem said that they will not adhere to calls to say out of the conflict between Israel and Hamas and they are “fully ready” to enter the war.
Speaking in the Lebanese capital Beirut Qassem told supporters, “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.
“Hezbollah knows its duties perfectly well. We are prepared and ready, fully ready, and we are following developments moment by moment.”
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Qassem who is the most senior Hezbollah official is the only high ranking member to speak publicly and the group’s chief Hassan Nasrallah has so far not made any public comment over the ongoing conflict.
Qassem said, “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 US defence secretary Lloyd Austin has said that he will not speculate on whether or not the US will intervene in the conflict should Hezbollah join the war.
A reporter asked Austin at a press conference, “Should Israel be attacked by Hezbollah from the north, will you be willing to exercise your force and join the fight?”
Austin said, “I ordered additional assets to the region to bolster deterrence.
“The message that we would send to any country or group thinking to take advantage of this situation and widen the conflict: don’t.
“I won’t speculate on anything that could happen in the future.
“I will just tell you clearly that the US will continue to support Israel‘s right to defend itself.”
Austin said at the press conference, “I am here in person to make something crystal clear: America’s support for Israel is iron clad.
“There is never any justification for terrorism”.
He added, “The United States has Israel’s back and that is not negotiable.”
