Secretary-General of Hezbollah Naim Qassem during his televised address on April 28, 2025. (Credit: Al-Manar)
BEIRUT — In an interview conducted by the Eqtidar magazine in its first issue and relayed by Al Manar, Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem said on Friday that the group "will work to face challenges by continuing the resistance as a liberation project and rejecting all forms of occupation, resettlement and normalization.”
Eqtidar is a pro-Hezbollah electronic magazine that will be published every two months, aiming to document and disseminate the resistance thought emanating from the experience of the former Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, who was assassinated in an Israeli airstrike in September 2024.
Last month, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that Israel seeks to "normalize its relations with Lebanon," noting that negotiations are underway, though this may seem "premature from the Lebanese point of view." U.S. Deputy Special Envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus also called for open dialogue between Lebanon and Israel. However, President Joseph Aoun said around two weeks ago that the Americans know that a process of normalization or peace negotiations between Lebanon and Israel is not "feasible at the moment."
In the interview, Qassem emphasized the party's ability to continue to "play an active role at all levels inside Lebanon, in close cooperation with the Amal Movement and other allies from the political forces and popular supporters of the resistance," adding that the party is "based on a national project that aims to protect Lebanon's sovereignty and independence in the face of all forms of external and internal threats."
Responding to a question about Hezbollah's reviews after the recent war with Israel, Qassem said that "evaluating and scrutinizing the gaps is the least that can be offered to honor the sacrifices of the martyrs, the wounded, the fighters and the public supporting the resistance." He stressed that the results of the evaluation will include identifying shortcomings, assigning responsibility and reviewing policies and practical plans.
Hezbollah emerged significantly weakened from the war with Israel, which spanned from October 2023 until November 2024. Despite a cease-fire agreement reached in late November, Israeli airstrikes continued in southern Lebanon on a near-daily basis.
Qassem said that the current circumstances "do not allow for the same pace of work in the security, military, political and cultural fields," which calls for a comprehensive assessment to "establish new steps on the basis of learning from experiences."
Hezbollah's Secretary-General also said that “the normalization between the Israeli entity and certain Arab regimes specifically aims to eliminate the Palestinian cause, and that Lebanon will be targeted in an attempt to undermine its resistance.”
The war in Lebanon started after Hezbollah launched a "support front" for Gaza from southern Lebanon on Oct. 8, one day after the start of the war between Hamas and Israel in Gaza. However, following the cease-fire agreement in Lebanon, Hezbollah stopped this front, even though the war in Gaza is still ongoing.
Finally, Qassem stressed the importance of “cooperation with partners from various forces, parties and sects to advance the country economically, rebuild what was destroyed by Israel, return the depositors' money, confront corruption and the corrupt and uphold the sovereignty of the rule of law.”
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