Updated

The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah group has vowed to support Palestinian militants battling Israeli troops in Gaza.

In his first remarks on the latest Israeli-Palestinian conflict that erupted on July 8, Hassan Nasrallah warned Israel that it's "suicide" to continue waging war in the Gaza Strip.

Nasrallah says Hezbollah is closely following the Israel-Hamas fighting and that his followers will do "everything we can" to help the Palestinians. He did not elaborate.

Hezbollah has long been one of the closest allies of Hamas.

Nasrallah spoke on Friday during a rare public appearance before thousands of supporters in southern Beirut, marking "Al-Quds Day" — a day of solidarity with Palestinians that Arabs traditionally observe on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Al-Quds is Arabic for Jerusalem.