Surrounded: Threats from the South, threats from the North as Hamas, Hezbollah leaders issue ultimatums against Israel
Hamas doubles down, Hezbollah weighs in: Violations at al-Aqsa could trigger regional war

The leaders of terror organizations on Israelâs northern and southern borders both warned Israelis not to get too comfortable despite a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas: violations at al-Aqsa could trigger regional war, they said in separate speeches.
âWe are ready for the great battle if the enemy commits a great folly in Jerusalem and the holy sites,â Yahya Sinwar, leader of Hamas in Gaza, said on Wednesday. âWe wanted to deliver a message to the occupation and the world that we do not make threats haphazardly, so that the world knows that al-Aqsa has men who protect it.â
Meanwhile, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah â leader of Lebanon-based Hezbollah â warned that any âviolation of Jerusalemâ would result in a regional war â and âIsraelâs destruction.â
âWe wonât substitute Palestinians, but stand behind and next to them,â a seemingly ill and frail Nasrallah said on Tuesday from an undisclosed location. âDonât misjudge Lebanon, as you did with Gaza, knowing that our situation is different.â
Nasrallahâs speech may have had the opposite effect than what the terror leader wanted. Instead of appearing threatening, Nasrallah broke into coughs and explained he hadnât appeared on video prior to this because he had been sick. During the conflict with Gaza, several rockets were fired from Lebanon at Israel but were likely fired by Palestinian factions. It is unclear whether Hezbollah approved of the launches, however.
Nasrallah added that the âSword of Jerusalemâ operation â which Israelis called Operation Guardian of the Walls â ruined Israelâs normalization efforts in the region.
During his rally in Gaza, Sinwar held a child dressed in terrorist garb holding a rifle. According to the Times of Israel, the childâs father â a member of Hamasâ military wing â was killed during the recent war.
Hamasâ leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, came out of hiding for a photo op. Watch him proudly display a child holding a firearm.
â Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 26, 2021
Does this look like an organization that wants peace? pic.twitter.com/omYzV04yR3
âWhat has happened is but a drill for what will come if Israel violates the al-Aqsa Mosque,â he said. âThe occupation must know â al-Aqsa has men who will defend it.â
âThe resistance has the ability to fire hundreds of missiles with a range of 100 to 200 kilometers per minute at the Zionist enemy,â Sinwar said.
He also vowed that Hamas wouldnât touch international aid that comes in to help rebuild Gaza since the organization has âsufficient financial resources⊠a large part of which are from Iran, and another part comes from Arab and Muslim donors and free people of the world who stand in solidarity with our people and their rights.â
Sinwar said Hamas opted not to launch â300 missiles in one goâ at Israel even though it could have. He also claimed that the IDF only managed to destroy 5% of the âMetroâ â the network of tunnels in Gaza, which Israel said it heavily targeted and severely damaged.
âWe have more than 500 kilometers (300 miles) of tunnels in the Gaza Strip, and the damage is no more than 5%,â he said.
The 11-day confrontation between Hamas in Gaza and Israel was largely triggered by violent clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians on the Temple Mount and the Sheikh Jarrah property dispute.
Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007.

Nicole Jansezian was the news editor and senior correspondent for ALL ISRAEL NEWS.