Lebanon is 'not isolated' from regional affairs: Qassem

BEIRUT – "Lebanon is not isolated from what is happening in the region and has never been isolated," said Naim Qassem, deputy secretary-general of Hezbollah, in a speech delivered during an Ashoura council on Thursday, reported by the state-run National News Agency (NNA). His comments come in response to "those who seek to distance Lebanon from regional issues."

Since Oct. 8 Hezbollah and Israel have been involved in near-daily cross-border fire. Hezbollah has repeatedly said that the southern front is a support front for Gaza and that its actions are in support of its Palestinian ally, Hamas, a position criticized by opponents of Hezbollah in Lebanon. 

"Lebanon today contributes to supporting Palestine and disrupting the goals of the Israeli enemy in Palestine, Lebanon and the region," Qassem said. "It is an impenetrable barrier to the Israeli expansionist project and to legitimizing the occupation of the Israeli entity."

Over 38,000 people have been killed and 87,445 injured, mostly civilians, since hostilities in Gaza began last October, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

"We have entered the tenth month. This is an indication that the Middle East, after the end of this war, will change from what it was before," Qassem also said. "We are facing a new Middle East in which a weak, outcast Israel is gradually collapsing and falling."

On the other hand, "the resistance has reinforced Lebanon through the trinity of 'the army, the people, and the resistance,' as well as the sacrifices of the citizens and martyrs," he added.