In Pictures

Thousands rally in Beirut to watch Hezbollah chief Nasrallah’s speech

The rally was called by Hezbollah to honour fallen fighters. It was Nasrallah’s first speech since the Gaza war started.

Supporters of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group raise their fists and cheer as Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah appears via a video link, during a rally to commemorate Hezbollah fighters who were killed in South Lebanon last few weeks while fighting against the Israeli forces, in Beirut, Lebanon. — Hezbollah supporters raise their fists and cheer in Beirut as the Lebanese group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, appears via video link, to give his first speech since the war in Gaza broke out [Hussein Malla/AP Photo]

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, on Friday to watch the widely anticipated televised address of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who spoke for the first time since the Israel-Hamas war broke out.

Celebratory gunshots rang out in the capital as thousands packed into a square in the southern suburbs to watch the speech, which many people in Lebanon were anxiously awaiting, rattled for weeks by fears the conflict could spread to the rest of the region.

His address was also keenly watched outside Lebanon, as Nasrallah is a leading voice in the informal alliance known as the “Axis of Resistance”, led by Iran to counter the influence of the United States and Israel.

He said that a wider regional escalation could not be ruled out if Israel continues its war in Gaza.

In his lengthy remarks, Nasrallah said that “all scenarios are open on our Lebanese southern front” and that “what happens on the Lebanese front will depend on what happens in Gaza”, calling on Israel to stop its attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip to avoid a regional conflagration.

Lebanon's Hezbollah supporters gather to attend a ceremony to honour fighters killed in the recent escalation with Israel, on the day of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah address, in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon. — Nasrallah said Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel was “100 percent Palestinian” and expressed support for the Palestinian group, but stopped short of declaring all-out war against Israel, as many had feared. [Alaa Al-Marjani/Reuters]

A supporter of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group waves a Palestinian flag, as he waits the speech of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, during a rally to commemorate Hezbollah fighters who were killed in South Lebanon last few weeks while fighting against the Israeli forces, in Beirut, Lebanon. — The Hezbollah leader praised the Hamas attack four weeks ago, which targeted villages and military posts in southern Israel. More than 1,400 people were killed in Israel in that attack, mostly civilians, according to Israeli authorities. [Hussein Malla/AP Photo]

A supporter of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group hold posters against the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as she waits the speech of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah during a rally to commemorate Hezbollah fighters who were killed in South Lebanon last few weeks while fighting against the Israeli forces, in Beirut, Lebanon. — Nasrallah said that one of the biggest mistakes Israel was making now in its war against Hamas in Gaza was pursuing goals that it cannot achieve. “For a whole month, Israel could not offer a single military achievement,” he said. [Hussein Malla/AP Photo]

Supporters of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group wave Palestinian and their group flags, as they wait the speech of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, during a rally to commemorate Hezbollah fighters who were killed in South Lebanon last few weeks while fighting against the Israeli forces, in Beirut, Lebanon. — Nasrallah blamed the conflict and high Palestinian civilian death toll on the United States, as US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken was meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv. [Hussein Malla/AP Photo]

Hezbollah supporters gather to attend a ceremony to honour fighters killed in the recent escalation with Israel, to watch Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's address, in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon. — Nasrallah insisted that Hezbollah has “been in this battle since October 8”, pointing out that what’s happening on the border is “unprecedented since 1948”, when Israel was created and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced during the Nakba, or “catastrophe”. [Mohamed Azakir/ Reuters]

Supporters of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group listen to Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who addresses a speech via a video link, during a rally to commemorate Hezbollah fighters who killed in South Lebanon last few weeks while fighting against the Israeli forces, in Beirut, Lebanon. — The Hezbollah chief said the two objectives of the group now were to end the war and “enable the resistance to triumph”. [Hussein Malla/AP Photo]

Supporters of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group shout slogans and wave Palestinian and their group flags, as they wait the speech of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, during a rally to commemorate Hezbollah fighters who were killed in South Lebanon last few weeks while fighting against the Israeli forces, in Beirut, Lebanon. — He called on the Arab world to recall their ambassadors and cut off oil and gas and food supplies to Israel. [Hussein Malla/AP Photo]

A supporter of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group flashes victory sign with an Arabic head band that reads:"Martyrs on Jerusalem road," as she waits the speech of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah during a rally to commemorate Hezbollah fighters who were killed in South Lebanon last few weeks while fighting against the Israeli forces, in Beirut, Lebanon. — The Hezbollah leader said “the victory of Gaza means the victory of the Palestinian people,” and that that would be in the interest of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, as well as Lebanon. [Hussein Malla/AP Photo]