Nasrallah: Christians and Muslims united against Israel, 'infidels'

Speech comes on heels of 2 strikes on Hezbollah in Syria attributed to IDF, which Liberman alluded to in meeting with EU envoys

Christians and Muslims are allied in the fight against Israel, the head of Hezbollah said Friday, days after airstrikes attributed to the Jewish state targeted sites in Syria associated with the Lebanon-based Shiite terror group.

“Christians and Muslims together oppose the challenges presented to them by Israel and the infidels,” Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech aired on Lebanese television, according to the Walla website.

Nasrallah was likely referring to two recent airstrikes that hit Hezbollah targets in Syria and which were attributed to Israel.

While Israel did not officially claim responsibility for the attacks, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman apparently acknowledged Wednesday that Jerusalem was behind them, saying they were meant to prevent “advanced weapons, military equipment and weapons of mass destruction” from reaching Hezbollah.

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman (left) shakes hands with EU ambassador Lars Faaborg Anderson during a meeting on December 7, 2016. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

Speaking to ambassadors from the European Union, Liberman did not specify what incident or incidents he was referring to, speaking only about “what was done in Syria,” according to a statement from his office.

“We are working, first and foremost, to defend the safety of our citizens and to protect our sovereignty, and we are trying to prevent the smuggling of advanced weapons, military equipment and weapons of mass destruction from Syria to Hezbollah,” he said.

His office refused to expand on what weapons of mass destruction Hezbollah may have been trying to acquire.

Large explosions at Mezzeh military airbase in #Damascus this early AM, unconfirmed if targeted by airstrike/rockets or fault pic.twitter.com/IrVNY4NXbb
— Sami (@Paradoxy13) December 7, 2016

Nasrallah also said Friday that Syrian President Bashar Assad would win the battle for the ravaged city of Aleppo, and that his victory would have regional implications.

“The promised victory by Assad in the city of Aleppo will impact the battle in Syria, in Mosul in Iraq and in the entire region,” Nasrallah said according to a translation of his comments published by Israeli media outlets.

His comment about Aleppo came after Assad said in a recent interview that he expects to win Aleppo and that his victory will change the face of the war.

In an interview with Syrian daily Al-Watan, published Thursday, Assad said a victory for his army in Aleppo would be a “huge step” towards ending the country’s five-year civil war, as rebels in Syria’s second city lost more ground.

“It’s true that Aleppo will be a win for us, but let’s be realistic — it won’t mean the end of the war in Syria,” Assad said. “But it will be a huge step towards this end.”

Syrian residents fleeing the violence in Aleppo gather at a checkpoint manned by pro-government forces in the Maysaloun neighborhood of the city on December 8, 2016. (AFP PHOTO/Youssef KARWASHAN)

Assad said a rebel loss in Aleppo would “mean the transformation of the course of the war across Syria” and leave opposition factions and their backers with “no cards left to play.”

When asked about the possibility of a truce in Aleppo, the Syrian president said, “it’s practically non-existent, of course.”

“The Americans in particular are insisting on demanding a truce, because their terrorist agents are now in a difficult situation,” he told Al-Watan.

— AFP contributed to this report.