LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Nasrallah normally communicates with his followers and gives news conferences via satellite link-up.

Nasrallah was seen walking through a throng of people in a southern Shia stronghold in Beirut this before he addressed a crowd marking the religious festival of Ashoura.

Nasrallah said in his address, made in the suburb of Dahiya was a message to those who believed they could "threaten us.

"I wanted to be with you for a few minutes ... to renew our pledge and for the world to hear us," Nasrallah said.

Nasrallah said Hezbollah was "here to stay" and would never give up its weapons.

"We are increasing in numbers and in weapons ... and for those who are betting that our weapons are rusting, we say that our weapons are being renewed," he said.

Beaming with a smile, Nasrallah then left the podium, telling tens of thousands of supporters he would reappear in few minutes on a giant screen for a longer speech.

"See you in few minutes," he joked to his followers before he left.

His appearance is being seen as an attempt to portray confidence at a time of upheaval in the Middle East, particularly in Syria, which along with Iran is Hezbollah's main backer.

The 51-year-old Nasrallah became the third Secretary General of the Lebanese political and paramilitary organization Hezbollah after Israel assassinated the previous leader, Abbas al-Musawi, in 1992. Hezbollah in its entirety is considered a terrorist organization by The United States, the Netherlands, Israel, and Canada. The group's military wing is considered a proscribed terrorist group by the governments of the United Kingdom and Australia. 

Many Syrians and Arabs around the region have since elevated Nasrallah to the status of a nationalist hero after the success of Hezbollah fighters against Israel in 2006.

Since the Syrian uprising, however, many Syrians have unleashed their anger at Hezbollah over its support for President Bashar al-Assad's rule. In addition, some protesters in Syria have set fire to the yellow flag of Hezbollah and pictures of Nasrallah.

The day of Ashoura is marked by Muslims as a whole, but for Shia Muslims it is a major religious festival which commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.

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