Hezbollah chief threatens to conquer Israeli territory

Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah has threatened to conquer northern Israel in case of war with the Jewish state. Speaking in the Lebanese capital Beirut at a ceremony in memory of dead Hezbollah fighters, Nasrallah said Hezbollah would take over the Galilee in case of a new war. "I'm telling the fighters of the Islamic resistance: Be ready for the day, should war be forced upon Lebanon, where the resistance's leadership will ask you to take over the Galilee."

Meanwhile, on Tuesday Israel temporarily shut down several of its diplomatic missions as a result of "unusual incidents against Israeli targets", coinciding with the upcoming anniversary of the late Hezbollah leader Imad Mughnieh’s assassination in Syria in February 2008. The alert level at Israel's missions has been raised to its highest level.

Nasrallah told his supporters: "I do not want to go into details. Suffice to say that our decision remains the same and will be executed, God willing, at the right time. To the Zionist generals, I say: Anywhere you go in the world, at any time, watch out, for the blood of Imad Mughnieh will not go to waste."

Hezbollah is a paramilitary force in Lebanon which is supported by Iran and Syria.