Beirut, Jan 4 (IANS): Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has warned to attack Israel "without restraint" if it expands attacks against Lebanon.

Nasrallah made the remarks on Wednesday night in a televised speech to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the assassination of top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone attack on January 3, 2020, Xinhua news agency reported.

Meanwhile, Nasrallah said that the assassination of Saleh al-Arouri, Hamas' deputy chief, and other Hamas officials in Beirut a day earlier was "a dangerous crime."

He said the current confrontation on Lebanon's southern border has been limited, considering the priority of protecting Lebanon's stability and security.

However, "if Israel expands its attacks ... all our power will be used to attack Israel; we do not fear the war, and we are not hesitant about it; otherwise, we would have stopped fighting on the southern front," he said.

The Lebanon-Israel border witnessed increased tension since Oct. 8 after the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets toward Israel in support of the Hamas attacks on Israel the previous day, prompting Israel to respond by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon.