Nasrallah assassination: Qassem vows Hezbollah 'will remain armed,' 'ready to face Israel'

Concluding the Saturday ceremony commemorating the first anniversary of former Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah's assassination, his successor, Naim Qassem, delivered a forceful speech; he notably reaffirmed that his party "will not give up its arms" and that it stood "ready for any confrontation with the Israeli enemy."

This address, projected on large screens on either side of the mausoleum built in memory of Hassan Nasrallah, marked the end of a lengthy ceremony attended by thousands of people in Burj al-Barajneh, in Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Among the dignitaries invited to the event were Sleiman Frangieh, leader of the Christian Marada party, as well as Hagop Pakradounian of the Armenian Tashnag party.

The two Hezbollah representatives in the government, Rakan Nassereddine and Mohammad Haidar, who serve as ministers of Health and Labor, respectively, were also present, along with Ali Larijani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, and one of Hassan Nasrallah's sons, Mohammad Mahdi.

'You changed the face and direction of the region'

Following religious-tinged chants composed in honor of the "sayyed" and sung by a choir, the current head of the party first paid homage to his predecessor, both in a vivid and metaphorical sense. 

"Your passing was heartbreaking, but your light remains radiant. You left this world to light it from above, and your presence has become even stronger. You were the leader; you have become the inspiration for leaders," he declared.

Qassem added: "You are the author of the famous phrase 'the era of defeats is over and the era of victories has arrived.' Indeed, today we are living through a time of great victories, within ourselves, in our lives and against our enemies."

He then listed "the liberation of the South in 2000," during the withdrawal of the Israeli army from southern Lebanon, the July 2006 war, and "the liberation of the jurds" in 2017, when the party fought Syrian jihadist groups in the rear areas of Ras Baalbeck and Ersal, near the Syrian border.

"You changed the face and direction of the region, and this resistance has spread to the world's consciousness," he continued.

After honoring the memory of Nasrallah’s brief successor, Hashem Safieddine, who was killed on Oct. 4, 2024, in another massive Israeli raid on the southern suburbs, and other high-ranking party members killed during the last war with Israel, Qassem’s remarks took on a more political tone.

An 'annex of the Israeli regime'

"The Israelis have killed leaders, struck our capacities, and conducted major operations; if such events had occurred over just a few days against any army or even a group of states, those armies and countries would have collapsed," he added, stressing that Israel's objective was to "put an end to resistance in Lebanon, in Palestine and throughout the region" to achieve the vision of "Greater Israel."

But Hezbollah, he maintained, was able to "regain the initiative, elect a new secretary-general, reorganize and replace its martyrs with new leaders," pushing Israel, he said, to accept the cease-fire agreement of Nov. 27, 2024, which ended two months of all-out war between the party and Israel.

Qassem thus reiterated that the "resistance was able to thwart the Israeli objective," while criticizing the fact that, despite the truce, Israel "continued its attacks, supported by America, which exerted every possible pressure to achieve by politics what it failed to achieve militarily."

He stated, "We are moving forward, regrouping and are ready for any showdown with the Israeli enemy ... Evidence of the resistance’s strength: the reconstruction of 400,000 homes, our success in municipal elections and our political presence."

The Hezbollah secretary-general also criticized American envoy Tom Barrack, who conditioned Lebanon's return to stability on the party's disarmament and a halt to its funding.

"By claiming that the United States will not intervene to confront Hezbollah and that Israel will continue that task, he gave legitimacy" to Israeli attacks, he said.

“The Americans say they want to strip the party of its strength — that is, Lebanon’s strength — they want to arm the army solely to fight Hezbollah,” he stated, arguing that Washington wants to turn Lebanon "into an annex of the Israeli state."

'Let the government do its duty'

Q also criticized the current Lebanese government and implicitly called out Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who has faced strong criticism from supporters of Hezbollah and Amal after he decided to prosecute Hezbollah officials for the illegal lighting of the Pigeon Rocks in Raouche on Thursday.

"The government made a mistake in its decisions regarding the resistance’s arms," and the dismantling of Hezbollah’s arsenal. "It must put national sovereignty at the top of its agenda; it will be realized by ensuring Israel does not remain in Lebanon. Let the government do its duty in terms of reconstruction and allocate a budget for this purpose, however modest," Qassem urged.

He also mentioned the implementation of the Taif Agreement's provisions for elections aimed at ending political sectarianism and establishing a senate — articles that have remained unused since the 1989 agreement was signed.