Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday made the first public statement since the Palestinian group Hamas and Israel went to war, a speech that will be scrutinized for clues about how the group’s role in the conflict may evolve.

Nasrallah’s main statements:

The Hezbollah leader began his speech

Hezbollah, a formidable military force backed by Iran, has in recent weeks attacked Israeli forces along the border, where 55 of its fighters were killed in the biggest escalation since the 2006 war with Israel.

Ahead of the speech, Hezbollah launched its biggest attack in a month, saying it had carried out 19 simultaneous strikes on Israeli army positions and used drones carrying explosives for the first time.

Israel responded with airstrikes along with tank and artillery fire as fighting on the border intensified.

Israel’s armed forces said they were on “high alert” along the country’s northern border with Lebanon and would “respond to every event” on the border.

However, since the clashes have so far largely been confined to the border, Hezbollah has used only a fraction of the firepower with which Nasrallah has threatened Israel for years.

Many people in Lebanon are eagerly awaiting Nasrallah’s speech, after weeks of dreading the possibility of a catastrophic conflict. Some say he has no plans beyond Friday, believing his words will signal the possibility of an escalation.

The speech is also widely anticipated.

Nasrallah is an important voice in the regional military alliance created by Iran to counter the US and Israel. Known as the “Axis of Resistance,” it includes Iraqi Shiite Muslim militias that have fired on U.S. forces in Syria and Iraq, as well as Yemen’s Houthis, who entered the conflict by firing drones at Israel.

Wearing the black turban of a sayed, or descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, and Shiite spiritual robes, Nasrallah is one of the most prominent figures in the Arab world.

His speeches, recognized even by critics as a skilled orator, have long been closely watched by both allies and enemies. Enemies, in particular the United States, consider him a terrorist.