Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem delivered remarks this evening in observance of Al-Quds Day, which marks the final day of Ramadan.
“We need to set a limit to Israel’s attacks – a boundary which was crossed in an attack on the Dahieh area of Beirut for the first time since the ceasefire, and also attacks on a number of locations in southern Lebanon,” Qassem said. “We will not accept that this behavior of Israel’s will continue, and if Israel thinks that it will create a new equation in which it justifies by means of false justifications with a goal of killing, of entering various places, and with the goal of striking in Dahieh, in Beqaa, and in southern Lebanon – then we will oppose this, and the State of Lebanon must stop this.”
He went on to stress that Hezbollah would not remain passive in the face of Israeli operations. “We will not accept a situation in which Israel does as it wishes and we stand on the side. There is a limit to everything. This opposition exists and is committed at this point to the agreement – but if Israel does not keep the agreement and the State of Lebanon does not reach the desired result on a diplomatic level – then we will have no choice but to return to the other options. Israel needs to know that by means of pressure, by means of occupying five locations, or by means of its crimes – it will not achieve what it wishes.”
Qassem also mentioned receiving messages from Hezbollah members eager to sacrifice their lives. “During the past few weeks, a number of messages have reached me from fighters who said that they are willing to carry out an act of a martyr’s death, and I told them that they are in the heart of the act of a martyr’s death. They were sad when they did not die a martyr’s death during the war – because they love the idea that their lives will end on the battlefield.”
In his address, Qassem referenced the origins of Al-Quds Day, initiated by Iran following its 1979 Islamic Revolution, and used to express support for Palestinians living under both Palestinian Authority and Hamas control. “The Palestinian issue is not a tactical issue and it is also not a strategic issue – it is an ideological issue, and as such it is based on faith. Israel is a cancerous tumor spreading thanks to the Americans,” he said.
According to the ceasefire accord that took effect on November 26, 2024, only Lebanon’s state military and official security forces are authorized to possess or use arms in the country’s southern region. The agreement stipulates: “Any sale, supply and production of weapons or arms-related materials to Lebanon shall be under the full supervision and control of the Lebanese government.”
Furthermore, the deal states that “All unauthorized facilities involved in the manufacture of weapons and arms-related materials will be dismantled, all military infrastructure and positions will be dismantled, and all unauthorized weapons that do not comply with these obligations will be confiscated.”
The agreement also underscores that both Israel and Lebanon will acknowledge the significance of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, although it adds, “these obligations do not negate Israel’s or Lebanon’s inherent right to self-defense.”
Despite the ceasefire, Israel has maintained a presence at five strategic locations near its northern border: outposts outside Shlomi, Jebel Blat Karkom, Shaked Ridge beyond Malkia, the Hamamis Ridge near Margaliot, and an area overlooking the Galilee panhandle. These positions are meant to stop hostile infiltrations and prevent Hezbollah from regaining a foothold near the border.
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