TEHRAN -- The chief 
commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on Thursday congratulated Lebanon and its Hezbollah resistance movement for successfully imposing a ceasefire on Israel, hailing it as a “strategic and humiliating defeat” for the occupying regime.
Major General Hussein Salami made the remarks in a message sent to Hezbollah Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem, a day after a truce deal took effect between Israel and Hezbollah following more than 14 months of fighting.
“The ceasefire on the Lebanese front is a strategic and humiliating defeat for the Zionist regime, which did not even come close to achieving any of its evil goals and ambitions in the war against Hezbollah,” he said.
 The truce, he added, “could even mark the beginning of a ceasefire to end the war on Gaza.”
Salami said Israel’s acceptance of the ceasefire, as it was under the barrage of Hezbollah missiles targeting the regime’s bases and strategic sites, had lessons for Tel Aviv and its supporters.
The usurping entity is on the decline and the crimes that it is committing in Gaza and Lebanon will strengthen the resistance, he emphasized.
The IRGC chief commander further said Hezbollah clinched the victory by truly dissuading Israel from achieving its evil objectives in the northern front of the occupied territories and imposing a ceasefire on the fake regime.
“Undoubtedly, this great victory, which was secured thanks to the pure blood of martyrs, the patience and resilience of the Lebanese people, and the unwavering courage and sacrifices of the youth and Hezbollah, is considered a major development in the history of the Islamic Ummah’s struggle against Zionists in West Asia.”
The leader of Yemen’s Ansarullah resistance movement also hailed Hezbollah’s victory, stating that God had granted yet another historic triumph over the Zionist regime.
“Lebanon’s victory at this critical and sensitive stage in confronting the Israeli enemy was a gift from God, and came following an unprecedented level of [Israeli] aggression against the nation and Hezbollah,” Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said Thursday.
“The bloody military campaign against Lebanon and Hezbollah was heavily supported by the US. Washington shares the Tel Aviv regime’s disappointment, and is definitely complicit in the Zionist entity’s aggression and crimes,” he added. 
He said Israeli officials had spoken of delivering painful and severe blows on Hezbollah, and even complete defeat of the Lebanese resistance group.
However, Hezbollah’s large-scale missile and drone attacks on Israeli positions, reaching as far as Tel Aviv within the occupied territories, well exhibited its military capabilities and prowess, Houthi said.
The Ansarullah leader emphasized that the victory of Hezbollah in standing up to the Zionist aggression once again showed that Israel could be defeated.
“The Lebanese victory was the fruit of patience, practical efforts, and preparation, leading to divine support,” he said, stressing that Hezbollah’s steadfastness stems from its readiness on both spiritual and material levels, enabling resilience and triumph.
The Ansarullah leader said the U.S. seeks to play down Hezbollah’s victory using diverse strategies to contain its political impact.
Houthi stated that the responsibility of the Muslim world to support Palestinians in the Gaza Strip has become even greater following Lebanon’s victory.
The Ansarullah chief also said a concerted effort across the Axis of Resistance is essential to aid the Palestinian people.
The Zionist military on Thursday conducted fresh attacks on Lebanon in violation of the ceasefire agreement, the Lebanese army said in a statement posted on X.
“These breaches included aerial violations and attacks on Lebanese territory using various weapons,” it said.
The Israeli military confirmed its Thursday aerial assault on southern

 Lebanon, adding that its forces had also opened fire towards the people who were driving to their homes in the area.
Earlier, Lebanese media reported that at least two people were wounded after Israeli tank fire hit five towns and some agricultural fields in the country’s south.
“The Israeli enemy is attacking those returning to the border villages,” Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said. “There are violations today by Israel, even in this form.”
The truce agreement, brokered by the United States and France, came into effect before dawn on Wednesday. It will last for 60 days in the hope of reaching a permanent cessation of hostilities.
At least 3,961 people were martyred and 16,520 others injured in Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
Hezbollah opened a support front for Palestinians in Gaza only a day after Israel unleashed its war against the besieged territory in October 2023, launching numerous retaliatory attacks against Israeli targets in the occupied territories. 
In a statement that followed the ceasefire, Hezbollah vowed to continue resisting Israel and monitoring the occupation army’s withdrawal from south Lebanon “with [our] hands on the trigger” in defense of Lebanon’s sovereignty.
Hezbollah further empathized that its fighters “remain fully equipped to deal with the aspirations and assaults of the Israeli enemy.”
It also reaffirmed its commitment to the Palestinian cause, noting that it will continue the path of resistance with even greater determination. 
At least 33 more Palestinians were martyred in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, bringing the overall death toll since October last year to 44,363, the Health Ministry in the enclave said on Friday. 
A ministry statement added that some 105,070 others were injured in the ongoing assault.
“Israeli forces killed 33 people and injured 137 others in three massacres of families in the last 24 hours,” the ministry said. “Many people are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.