Nasrallah called upon the Lebanese people to remain steadfast in the face of military strikes from Israel, but also in the face of "US, international, and Arab support." He said that he believes the Lebanese people will remain "ready to sacrifice," promising "another victory" and declaring that Hizbullah fighters, and God, "realized the victory in 2000." Nasrallah was referring to then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak's decision to withdraw Israeli troops from a security zone in southern Lebanon, which Israel patrolled in conjunction with the now-defunct South Lebanese Army.
"To the Zionists," the Hizbullah leader continued, "I will no longer say: if you hit Beirut, we will hit Haifa. You have changed the rules of the game. You wanted an open war, an open war is what you will get. It will be a full war - Haifa and beyond Haifa, and beyond Haifa."
Employing Islamic rhetoric, Nasrallah taunted Israelis: "You do not know who you are fighting. You are fighting the sons of Mohammad and the prophet's family.... We have faith not possessed and unrivalled by anyone else on earth. You chose war with people proud of their history and who have great abilities."
Turning to Arab leaders, the terrorist leader declared, "We are adventurists. We didn't bring to our country anything but victory and pride. This is our history. We know your history. In 1982, we proved we were the sane ones. We never counted on you, we count on ourselves and God.
"The surprises will begin. This is the first surprise. Right now, the Israeli war ship at sea, look at it now, it's burning," Nasrallah concluded, after his men had carried out an unprecedented missile attack on a navy vessel operating off the coast of Lebanon.
One sailor was killed in the attack and three others are listed as missing-in-action as of Saturday night.
IDF sources confirmed that the attack on the navy was unexpected, saying that the military was unaware that Hizbullah was armed with the Chinese C-802 anti-ship missile that struck the vessel. The missiles were assumed to have been provided by Iran.
On Saturday, Israeli planes bombed Nasrallah's private home, as well as the Hizbullah headquarters in Beirut. A senior IDF officer said that a previous bombing raid in Beirut led to the collapse of an 11-story building, the rubble of which blocked the exit of a bunker where Nasrallah was hiding.
"To the Zionists," the Hizbullah leader continued, "I will no longer say: if you hit Beirut, we will hit Haifa. You have changed the rules of the game. You wanted an open war, an open war is what you will get. It will be a full war - Haifa and beyond Haifa, and beyond Haifa."
Employing Islamic rhetoric, Nasrallah taunted Israelis: "You do not know who you are fighting. You are fighting the sons of Mohammad and the prophet's family.... We have faith not possessed and unrivalled by anyone else on earth. You chose war with people proud of their history and who have great abilities."
Turning to Arab leaders, the terrorist leader declared, "We are adventurists. We didn't bring to our country anything but victory and pride. This is our history. We know your history. In 1982, we proved we were the sane ones. We never counted on you, we count on ourselves and God.
"The surprises will begin. This is the first surprise. Right now, the Israeli war ship at sea, look at it now, it's burning," Nasrallah concluded, after his men had carried out an unprecedented missile attack on a navy vessel operating off the coast of Lebanon.
One sailor was killed in the attack and three others are listed as missing-in-action as of Saturday night.
IDF sources confirmed that the attack on the navy was unexpected, saying that the military was unaware that Hizbullah was armed with the Chinese C-802 anti-ship missile that struck the vessel. The missiles were assumed to have been provided by Iran.
On Saturday, Israeli planes bombed Nasrallah's private home, as well as the Hizbullah headquarters in Beirut. A senior IDF officer said that a previous bombing raid in Beirut led to the collapse of an 11-story building, the rubble of which blocked the exit of a bunker where Nasrallah was hiding.