BEIRUT, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah assured the Lebanese on Sunday that the battles would be victorious against the Islamic State (IS) group.
Hezbollah celebrated on Sunday in the southern town of Khiyam the 11th anniversary of its victory over Israel following the 33-day war in 2006 with Nasrallah delivering a speech broadcasting through giant TV screens.
Nasrallah's remarks referred to the expected offensive the Lebanese army was to launch against the IS. He also voiced his readiness to help Lebanese army in any future operations to drive out IS militants from the outskirts of east Lebanon's Ras Baalbeck and al-Qaeda.
"We are waiting for the Lebanese Army command decision, and it is his decision to announce the start of the battle to liberate the rest of the lands occupied by IS," he said.
Assuring that the Lebanese will once again be victorious, he concluded "we are going to achieve a sound and decisive victory. It's just a matter of time and we should be unified as a nation."
He also warned Israel in his speech that his party was more prepared than ever before for any future encounters.
"The Israelis are still studying the lessons of their war on Lebanon and they are still endeavoring to restore trust that was destroyed during the war of 2006 between the Israelis and their leadership," Nasrallah said.
"After 11 years they are still admitting the failure in their main objective of defeating Hezbollah in 2006 and the degree of danger that the 'resistance' in Lebanon represents to them," he added.
Following a 33-day aggression by Israel against Hezbollah in July 2006, the United Nations Security Council issued resolution 1701 which "halted all military operations between Hezbollah and Israel," a decision that was viewed by the Lebanese as a victory against Israel.
