In a response to warnings by Israeli officials, Hezbollah recently published a Hebrew-subtitled video of Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah deriding Israel for being ‘loquacious’ about its ‘threats’ and ‘intimidation’ against the Iranian-backed group.
The video begins by showing Prime Minister Netanyahu and other Israeli officials speaking about Lebanon. In the background, Nasrallah remarks about how Hezbollah is aware of recent Israeli threats and that they are nothing new.
“What I want to say regarding all the threats and intimidations that we have heard: O Israelis, there is nothing new about what you said and what you are,” Nasrallah stated.
Nasrallah continues by noting that Israel has done something that it hasn’t done before; it has become overly vocal about its threats against Hezbollah.
“But one new thing is that you’ve become loquacious,” Nasrallah emphasized.
Nasrallah then alludes to Hezbollah’s capabilities and its in-depth knowledge about Israel and its military.
“The important thing is what’s new, that is what information we have about you. The amount of information we possess about Israel, its army, its capabilities and its home front. What is important now is that as a resistance movement we know about you,” Nasrallah remarked.
Lastly, Nasrallah ends the publication by lauding Hezbollah’s militants, its arsenal and its trust in Allah to defeat Israel in a future conflict.
“We know your soldiers and you know our mujhadeen. We know your huge potential and you know our capabilities, which if added to our mujahideen, our people, our faith, and our trust in Allah, then we expect nothing from this path but more defeats for you,” Nasrallah concluded.
The publication is a part of a decades-old strategy of Hezbollah attempts to influence Israeli opinion – a reason why the video was subtitled in Hebrew – through social media. Using online ‘pro-resistance’ channels such as Central-Media, Hezbollah has published messages, videos and other propaganda in an effort to reach an Israeli audience, especially the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
In response, the IDF also uses social media to convey messages to Hezbollah and other so-called Islamic resistance groups. The IDF routinely tweets operational activity it has conducted against Hezbollah and its affiliates.
Hezbollah and the IDF have recognized the effectiveness of social media by employing it as a part of their overall strategy to convey messages to one another. It’s unlikely the strategy will be abandoned by either side and its usage will likely broaden if conflict breaks out between the two in the future.
