BEIRUT (Dispatches) – Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem has declared that the Lebanese people will never accept humiliation or surrender in the face of the Israeli enemy, and that their path remains a Husseini one rooted in dignity, defiance, and sacrifice.
Sheikh Qassem made the remarks on Sunday as the U.S. and the Zionist regime mount pressure on Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah before a potential normalization deal between Beirut and Tel Aviv.
During a speech commemorating Ashura, the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS), the third Shia Imam, Sheikh Qassem said that Hezbollah rejects normalization with the occupying regime as an act of humiliation and disgrace.
“Threats will not make us surrender, and it is unacceptable to ask us to soften our positions or abandon our weapons while the aggression continues,” he added.
He also noted that Hezbollah was astonished by calls to hand over its rockets, which are the foundation of its defensive capability.
“Were it not for the resistance,... Israel would have overrun Lebanese towns and villages,” the Hezbollah chief said.
He further referred to last year’s ceasefire agreement between Hezbollah and Israel, saying the regime has violated the truce thousands of times.
Israel, he emphasized, must implement the agreement, which means withdrawing from Lebanon, halting its aggression and overflights, and releasing prisoners.
Israel launched its aggression against Lebanon in October 2023 in response to Hezbollah’s determined pro-Palestinian strikes against the occupied territories.
It, however, agreed to the truce deal after failing to either stop the resistance operations or cripple Hezbollah as it had sought.
Additionally in his remarks, Sheikh Qassem expressed Hezbollah’s readiness for peace and state-building, along with confrontation and defense, saying, “We will not relinquish our rights, no matter the sacrifices.”
He also hailed Yemen’s operations against the Tel Aviv regime, saying Sana’a has managed to humiliate both the U.S. and the Zionist regime.
Meanwhile, Sheikh Qassem praised the Iranian people for standing firm in the face of Israeli-U.S. aggression during last month’s assault on the country.
He further said that Palestine will remain for its people and that Hezbollah will continue to stand by the oppressed nation.