ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - An Iran-backed militia group in Iraq announced that they would expect Iraq to turn into a battleground against Israel, while denying reports of having dispatched ground forces to Lebanon to support Lebanese Hezbollah as fears of an all-out war grow amid highetened escalations.

Iraq will “turn into a war front” with Israel, Kadhim al-Fartousi, spokesperson of Iran-backed Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada said during an interview with a local Iraqi TV on Thursday. 

“The resistance factions are fighting on behalf of all Iraqis, and the fronts of Iraq and other countries will stop if the aggression against Lebanon and Gaza stops," al-Fartousi said.

Nearly a year into the war with Hamas in Gaza, Israel has shifted its focus to attacking Lebanon since Monday, pummeling the country and engaging in daily cross-border exchanges of fire with Hezbollah, aggravated by a massive cyberattack involving communication devices last week.

Avenging the killing of its leaders and the striking of its members and positions, Hezbollah has been firing multiple rocket barrages into northern Israel on a daily basis, targeting the Israeli army and sending scores of local residents into bomb shelters.

In what has been called “the bloodiest day in Lebanon in a generation,” Israel launched a widespread aerial offensive on southern Lebanon on Monday, killing over 550 people and wounding nearly 2,000 others on a single day.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday said that over 90,000 people from southern and eastern Lebanon have been displaced to the northwest since Monday.

As tensions rise, observers warn that the conflict could mark a turning point in the regional conflict, potentially prompting a coordinated response from Hezbollah and its allies in Iraq and beyond. Many are questioning how these developments will impact the stability of the region in the coming weeks.

The Iraqi militia groups, notably the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, have already joined arms, claiming multiple drone attacks on Israeli bases on the Golan heights, and vowing to continue. 

Despite calls for a ceasefire by the US and Europe, Israel announced on Thursday that there will be no room for negotiations on an armistice until “final victory” is achieved. 

Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada is a militia group that is part of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). The group is closely linked to Iran. 

"God will grant us victory,” al-Fartousi said of their war with Israel. “Supporting the resistance in Lebanon is better than remaining silent.”

“The battle now is a battle of right" against might, he said. “For the first time Iraq is entering a battle of right."

The spokesperson of Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada admitted that Iraq does not have a strong military might to face off external threats.

Iraq is "incapable of protecting its sovereignty from Turkey or even Kuwait… Iraq does not have an air defense system, or radars..This is shameful,” he said. “No sane person denies that Israel has superiority in weapons... our only means is a war of attrition.”

"We have a fixed base; either live in glory or die... and heaven awaits us,” he added. 

The spokesperson denied claims that they had dispatched ground forces to Lebanon.

“Hezbollah has not requested and it will not need it,” he said. 

Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada leader Abu Alaa Al-Walaei in a post on social media platform X warned on Thursday night of targeting the UAE as “the forward base” for the “Zionist entity” in the Gulf in case of an “all-out war” with Israel.

“The resistance missiles and drones that have already reached deep into Israel, can easily strike alternative sites in the region,” Al-Walaei said.