Hezbollah leader says Hamas will survive Israeli planned raids in Rafah

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Wednesday said Israel will not be able to eliminate Hamas even if it enters Rafah, local TV channel al-Manar reported.

"You have failed to achieve any of the war's targets; even the Rafah operation will not offer you an image of victory. You will not be able to get rid of Hamas or the resistance," Nasrallah said in a televised speech on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan, showing solidarity with Hamas, the Gaza-ruling Palestinian faction.

A destroyed building in the aftermath of an overnight Israeli airstrike on the city of Baalbek in east-central Lebanon, March 12, 2024. /CFP

Nasrallah said that Israel had failed to achieve its "biggest goal" – to eliminate Hamas at the beginning of the war. After nearly six months of war, Israelis are negotiating with Hamas through mediation.

He claimed that Hamas is negotiating on behalf of all Palestinian factions, and it aims to reach a halt to the Israeli aggression against Gaza and not only a ceasefire.

The Lebanon-Israel border has been witnessing increased tension since October 8, 2023 after Lebanese armed group Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets toward Israel, in support of the Hamas attack on Israel the previous day, prompting Israel to respond by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon.