Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's speech revealed that the terror leader will tell his followers whatever they want to hear, Yedioth Ahronoth's Arab affairs correspondent Avi Issacharoff said in a Monday interview with Udi Segal and Anat Davidov on Radio 103FM.
"Nasrallah claims the operation is over," Issacharoff said. "He suggests that if they realize the damage wasn't significant, they'll reconsider their next steps."
Issacharoff added, "We don’t need to be geniuses to see that if Nasrallah gives a victory speech saying they've defeated the enemy, and that's not the reality, then Hezbollah clearly faces a challenge in managing the expectations of its supporters."
"He can't say, 'we failed.' In a speech like this, he’s not addressing Israel. He has had speeches where he spoke directly to Israel. You could see the mockery on social media. This situation is nothing for Hezbollah to be proud of."
Instead, Issacharoff noted that Nasrallah "was speaking to his supporters, his base. If he says, 'we won,' they’ll accept it without question. They'll take it in, word for word."
Hostage Deal Prospects
Regarding negotiations for a hostage deal, Issacharoff remarked, "The chances of progress there are slim. Sinwar [Hamas' leader] isn’t thinking rationally. It's not like he sees the severe damage to Gaza."
"At the moment, Sinwar is acting irrationally. His organization is suffering military blows one after another, and the destruction in the Strip is catastrophic, but he doesn’t care. His main concern is his personal survival," he added.
Issacharoff also commented, "On our side, I don't think the prime minister is eager to reach a ceasefire, largely for political reasons."
The Philadelphi Corridor
Regarding the Philadelphi Corridor, Issacharoff stated, "If Israel pulls out of the corridor for five or six weeks, nothing major will happen. You can always return. The real question is whether anyone is willing to make a deal. There's a security risk here—no one’s naïve—but what's the alternative? Is the prime minister prepared to keep 109 hostages in order to stay in the corridor?"