Hezbollah’s Secretary General, Naim Qassem, has categorically refused to surrender to the Lebanese government “till Israel exists on land”.
The group, despite facing overwhelming losses in the Syrian civil war followed by the war with Israel, has refused to give in while Israeli occupation exists, saying they are ready to fight with all their resources.
In a televised address, Qassem marked the 40th-day commemoration of Imam Hussain AS in the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek.
“The resistance will not surrender while Israeli occupation exists. We are ready to fight with all our resources and till the last fighter against the Zionist-American project,” he said.
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The commemoration marks the end of a 40-day mourning period for the grandson of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, Imam Hussein, killed in battle in 680.
Every year, thousands of Shia pilgrims travel on foot to Iraq’s Karbala city to mark the ritual, one of the largest religious events in the Shia world.
Meanwhile, responding to veiled threats by the militant group, Lebanese Prime Minister, Nawaf Salam, said on X that his country is not ready to fight a war with Israel, as “nobody in Lebanon wants it”.
Salam also rejected Qassem's claims about the Lebanese government being run by foreign agencies, saying “our decisions are purely Lebanese and made in our Cabinet; no one dictates them to us.”
“Handing over weapons to the Lebanese army is not handing them to the Israeli enemy,” he said further, warning against any “irresponsible actions that could fuel strife.”
Qassem has criticised the Lebanese government and imposed “full responsibility” on it for “any internal strife and for neglecting its duty to defend the country’s land”.
Meanwhile, Israel launched a military offensive in Lebanon on October 8, 2023, which escalated into a full-scale war by September 2024, killing more than 4,000 people and injuring around 17,000.
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