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Hezbollah boss Hassan Nasrallah sparks speculation about the state of health with a speech

2021-05-29T05:07:12.599Z


In the recent conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant groups, Hezbollah held back. Militia chief Nasrallah now looked battered in a video message - and threatened Israel.


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Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah (archive image)

Photo: Nabil Mounzer / dpa

The spiral of violence in the Middle East seems to have been broken for the time being.

The ceasefire agreed between Israel and the radical Islamic Hamas is still in place, although there have recently been violent riots and attacks in Jerusalem, among other places.

The Lebanese Islamist militia Hezbollah recently acted cautiously in the conflict.

Rockets were only sporadically fired at Israel from Lebanon - according to information from Lebanese security circles, however, these are said to have come from a Palestinian group.

It was not until Tuesday that Hezbollah General Secretary Hassan Nasrallah spoke for the first time in a video message about the dispute after days of silence.

However, the appearance now raises questions about the health of the militia chief.

The 60-year-old had to cough repeatedly during the speech and looked breathless.

In the video itself, Nasrallah justified his absence by saying that he had a "strong cough".

Therefore he was not able to report from "Jerusalem Day until today".

The day is called al-Quds day in Arab countries and was once proclaimed by the Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to protest against Israel.

In Muslim countries, it is always used on the last Friday in Ramadan for anti-Israeli and anti-American rallies.

This year the day was celebrated on May 7th.

Israel's military suspects nasrallahs to be infected with corona

According to media reports, the Israeli military believe that Nasrallah suffers from Covid-19 disease or is recovering.

The army is of the opinion that Nasrallah made a mistake with the speech, reported the Israeli radio on Thursday.

The aim was to deter Israel.

However, he made a sick and weak impression.

In his message, the militia leader threatened a regional war should there be attacks in Jerusalem or on the Temple Mount.

The complex in Jerusalem's old city is sacred to Muslims and Jews alike.

Confrontations on the Temple Mount are considered to be one of the triggers for the recent escalation between Israel and the radical Islamic Hamas ruling in the Gaza Strip.

After eleven days, both sides agreed on a ceasefire that has been in force since Friday.

Hezbollah is closely allied with Israel's archenemy Iran.

With her militia, she controls, among other things, the south of Lebanon and thus the border with Israel, where tensions arise again and again.

The last time there was a war between Hezbollah and Israel was in 2006.

fek / mrc / dpa

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2021-05-29

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