So far, the battle Hezbollah has begun is one of rhetoric and rallying the Arab street. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's secretary general, has made a series of speeches since the start of conflict, praising Hamas and attacking Arab states that have made peace with Israel.
"There is a permanent U.S.-Israeli project in the region. ... Some Arab regimes are partners in this project," Nasrallah said Friday.
Nasrallah has called out Egypt for special criticism, slamming its policy of a closed border with Gaza and urging Egyptians to protest their government.
"Hezbollah has never [before] singled out an Arab regime the way it has," said Hezbollah expert Saad-Ghorayeb, who sees the move as a paradigm shift.
"The strategy of Hezbollah is to put pressure on Egypt to weaken Israel," she said. "It's a goal toward weakening the Israeli support. Without Arab support Israel would be in a much weaker position."
Last week, as a Nasrallah speech played on video screens overhead, tens of thousands of Hezbollah supporters rallied in Beirut's southern suburbs. Across the Arab world crowds demonstrated against Israel, roused by the fighting and by Nasrallah's call.
"From the very beginning of Hezbollah's existence they've felt they were the spearhead of a movement against Israel," said Judith Palmer-Harik, a political scientist in Lebanon and author of "Hezbollah: The Changing Face of Terrorism."
"They feel themselves morally responsible for a position that denounces peace treaties and agreements signed between Israel and Arab governments. Most people in the Arab world believe that stance ... and that's responsible for much of Hezbollah's following," Palmer-Harik said.
That fighting in the Gaza Strip erupted during Ashura, a Shiite holiday that promotes the glory of martyrdom, sharpens Hezbollah's rhetorical point.
"The faithful fighter either achieves victory or falls martyr," Nasrallah said in a speech last week.
"In both cases, he wins."
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