(NewsNation) — Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Friday that his powerful militia is already engaged in unprecedented fighting along the Lebanon-Israel border and threatened a further escalation as Israel’s war with Hamas nears the one month mark.

In televised remarks — his first since the Palestinian militants’ deadly Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel — Nasrallah stopped short of announcing that Hezbollah would fully enter the war, a move that would have devastating consequences for both Lebanon and Israel.

Firas Maksad, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, said it’s a warning that should be taken seriously nonetheless.

“Hezbollah is a group that would put Hamas to shame,” he said. “It is the most powerful nonstate military actor in the world.”

With about 100,000 soldiers, it far surpasses the estimated 20,000 to 25,000 Hamas fighters.

Despite the warnings, Maksad said an immediate threat to the U.S. is unlikely.

“I should caution that most of these threats tend to be directed at U.S. forces, U.S. bases and U.S. interests in the region — Syria, Iraq and other places. But those Iranian-sponsored military groups do understand that an attack against the American homeland will draw a very strong American response,” Maksad said.

Hezbollah officials have avoided publicly setting a specific red line on Israel, saying vaguely they would join the war if they see that Hamas is on the verge of defeat. Instead, Hezbollah has taken calculated steps to keep Israel’s military busy on its border with Lebanon, but not to the extent of igniting an all-out war.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.