Hezbollah's leader warns of 'war without rules' if Israel launches Lebanon offensive

The leader of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, warned yesterday of a war "without rules or ceilings" in the event of a full-scale Israeli offensive against the Lebanese militia, as he threatened that Cyprus could become a target if it allowed Israel to use its territory in any conflict.

- Peter Beaumont

Cyprus and Israel have a bilateral defence cooperation agreement under which the countries have conducted joint exercises.

"Opening Cypriot airports and bases to the Israeli enemy to target Lebanon would mean the Cypriot government is part of the war, and the resistance will deal with it as part of the war," the Hezbollah chief said.

Nasrallah's defiant remarks came a day after Israeli generals said they had signed off on planning for a wider offensive against Hezbollah, and Israel's foreign minister, Israel Katz, said the country was on the brink of deciding whether to expand the war.

Speaking at a memorial for Taleb Sami Abdallah, the most senior Hezbollah commander to be killed by Israel since the two sides began cross-border exchanges on 8 October, Nasrallah said that Hezbollah's role was to support Hamas fighting in Gaza and it had succeeded in tying up Israeli forces in the country's north.

Nasrallah spoke about a strategy aimed at a ceasefire in Gaza, but the rhetoric appeared more heated as he said nowhere in Israel would be safe from Hezbollah's attacks. "We have more than 100,000 fighters, and even more, even in the worstcase scenario," he added. "We have prepared for the worst-case scenario and Israel knows it."