Hezbollah leader stops short of declaring full-scale war with Israel – but leaves the door open

As one of the leading figures in the Arab world, there has been trepidation in the West about what Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah might say, writes Kim Sengupta. But there appears little current appetite for a larger escalation

‘This glorious, blessed large-scale operation was a hundred per cent Palestinian in terms of decision and execution,’ said Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah (via Reuters)

The first speech by Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader, since the start of this bloodiest of the Gaza wars, was awaited with both anticipation and trepidation by the international community.

The sheikh is one of the leading figures in the Arab world and a key figure in the “axis of resistance” – consisting of Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, Hamas, Iraqi Shia militias and the Yemeni Houthis – against the US and Israel.

The fiery speeches of Nasrallah were a prominent feature of the 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in which both sides experienced significant military losses and a million Lebanese and up to half a million Israelis were displaced.