As Israel decided to expand its offensive, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah released a new statement Wednesday pledging a fierce resistance.

• Hassan Nasrallah: “I say to the Zionists, you can come here and go anywhere you like, you can invade and deploy your troops that are brought by air, and to enter villages or military points — this is not nothing new and I repeat my position — but you will pay a heavy price for all this. You will not be able to stay in our land, and if you come in, we will force you out, we will turn our precious southern land into a graveyard for the occupying Zionists.”

Nasrallah went on to call for all Arab-Israelis to leave the Israeli city of Haifa. Nasrallah said he was sadden Hezbollah rockets have killed Haifa’s Arab residents and said the attacks have been scaled down because of their presence. In a major development, Nasrallah also said he would support Lebanon’s proposal to deploy 15,000 Lebanese troops to the border as part of a ceasefire agreement.