Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah on Wednesday asserted that his organization had achieved its primary goal of wearing down Israel.
"We have exhausted Israel economically, in terms of manpower, and socially. This will force it to stop the war," Nasrallah said in a speech delivered in memory of senior Hezbollah commander Muhammad Neamah Nasser who was assassinated by Israel last week.
He reiterated four times Hezbollah's long-standing demand: if the fighting in Gaza stops, so will the attacks on Israel from Lebanon. His words suggest an interest in a ceasefire in Gaza to prevent a significant escalation on the northern front.
Nasrallah boasted that "foreign parties" have come to understand that halting the fighting in the north is tied to ending the war in Gaza. "Through our fighting, we distract the enemy from its aggression against Gaza and make it realize that if it wants to stop it, it must stop the aggression in Gaza," he said.
"We are waiting for the results of the negotiations. The whole world recognizes that there must be a ceasefire. Hamas is negotiating on its behalf and on behalf of the resistance factions, and whatever Hamas agrees to is sufficient for all of us."
Regarding the summit in Qatar between the Israeli delegation and mediators aimed at advancing a deal, Nasrallah said, "We did not ask Hamas to coordinate with us regarding the negotiations. We support them in every decision and stand with them until the end."
Nasrallah also addressed Israel's social crisis and the issue of ultra-Orthodox recruitment: "The Israeli army cannot leave the north because it fears Hezbollah cells' infiltration, especially after losing its surveillance equipment. The exhaustion in Gaza and the north leads to a social crisis in Israel, necessitating more soldiers. The Israeli army is forced to extend conscription, which has economic and social impacts on Israel. The army suffers from a manpower shortage, and they are trying to compel the ultra-Orthodox to enlist."
He continued to boast, claiming that "the enemy is experiencing its most difficult days historically" and referred to the upcoming investigations into the battles of October 7: "Some of the October 7 investigations revealed weaknesses," he asserted. "'Failure' is the title of this battle for Israel. In the tenth month, the army has not achieved any of its declared objectives."
Amid calls in Israel to "defeat" the Lebanese terror organization rather than negotiate with it, Nasrallah added, "Those who threaten to invade south of the Litani should look at what is happening in Rafah. In the narrow area, they did not achieve victory. They said they would finish the battle in 3-4 weeks and failed," he claimed, despite the fact that the IDF achieved significant successes in Rafah, killing over 900 terrorists.
Nasrallah also said that in Israel, "there are no longer threats to eliminate Hezbollah and start a full-scale war. They do not threaten to eliminate Hezbollah because of what happened in Gaza, where they failed to eliminate Hamas."