Secretary General of Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, during an interview on the NBC channel. (Credit: NBC archive photo)
BEIRUT — Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem on Tuesday addressed a message to his party’s fighters in South Lebanon, read by a presenter on the party's channel, al-Manar, without making a public appearance.
He congratulated them for their "heroic" fight against the enemies, praising their faith in God and self-sacrifice, and assuring that "the final word will be on the ground."
This message comes as fierce clashes rage between Hezbollah fighters and the Israeli army in South Lebanon, notably around the strategic village of Khiam, in the Marjayoun district, amid persistent reports of an Israeli intention to launch a ground offensive in Lebanon in both the media and public statements.
Hezbollah had opened this front with Israel last March 2, alongside the start of the Israeli-American war against Iran.
The initiative was presented as "revenge for the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei" on Feb. 28.
Qassem’s message comes just hours after the announcement of the elimination of Iran’s strongman, Larijani, in an Israeli strike in Tehran.
"You are the sons of this land; they do not have the means to defeat you," wrote the secretary-general to the fighters.
He praised the "courage" of the resistance and the "level of preparedness" of his men "to face the aggression at the appropriate moment." Qassem recalled that the resistance "waited for 15 months," giving diplomacy a chance. He was referring to the cease-fire signed on Nov. 27, 2024, which the Israeli army violated daily through targeted assassinations of pro-Iranian party officials and its presence at several points described as "strategic" in South Lebanon.
Self-defense
"You are facing wild Zionist criminality and unbridled American tyranny, and all the West that seeks gains from the blood of the pure," Qassem added. He asserted that "Hezbollah and its Islamic resistance are in a position of legitimate self-defense in this battle, to liberate the land."
For him, "history will record that you resisted the enemy under the worst conditions, and that you prevented it from achieving its objectives." "The final word will be on the ground," he added, promising "victory." "We have no choice but resistance in the face of the enemy," he also said.
In his message, Qassem renewed his allegiance "to Sayyed Mojtaba Khamenei [the new Iranian Supreme Leader]," who succeeded his father a few days after his death, but who still has not made a public appearance.
He assured that "the resistance will continue despite all the sacrifices," emphasizing that "the solution exists, but it requires an end to the [Israeli] aggression, a withdrawal from Lebanese territories, the release of detainees [Lebanese in Israeli prison], and the return of Southerners to their villages."
Hezbollah’s opening of this front against Israel set off a new cycle of violence and destruction in Lebanon, resulting in more than 900 dead, 2,000 wounded, and a million displaced in 15 days.
