A man walks past a portrait of Hezbollah's leader, Sheikh Naim Qassem, on May 24, 2025, in Sour, South Lebanon, during the municipal elections. (Credit:Matthieu Karam/L'Orient-Le Jour)
The head of Hezbollah on Friday called on Lebanese authorities to "stop making free concessions," amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Shiite party that has drawn the entire country into it. "The resistance will continue until our last breath," said Naim Qassem, according to a message read by a presenter on the party’s channel, Al-Manar.
These statements come as Lebanon prepares for direct negotiations with Israel next week in Washington, intended to end the war.
"We will not accept any return to the status quo and we call on the authorities to stop making free concessions," Sheikh Qassem added, according to the message. "Together, as a state, army, people and resistance, we will protect our country, restore its sovereignty and drive out the occupier," said the head of the party-militia, referring to the three-part formula Hezbollah has promoted for years. "Their threats and their weapons will not intimidate us, because we are the legitimate owners of this land. We have the faith, the will, and the means to prevent them from achieving their objectives," he added.
This is the third written message, read on television, that Qassem has addressed to his base since mid-March. He gave a televised speech on March 13, on the occasion of Jerusalem Day.
Israeli 'bloody aggression' of April 8
The Hezbollah chief also denounced "the bloody aggression on Wednesday in Beirut, in the southern suburb, in the south of the country, in the Bekaa Valley, in Mount Lebanon and everywhere else, targeting civilians in densely populated neighborhoods, villages, and towns" which, according to him, served Israel in "masking its impotence on the ground." More than 300 people were killed in these simultaneous strikes across Lebanon, including more than 30 children, according to the Ministry of Health and UNICEF, the U.N. Children's Fund. "But our Lebanese people are much stronger and more resilient than many think. The displaced have set an example of pride and courage, and those who hosted them have shown the noblest forms of civility and humanity," he said, despite underlying tensions in many regions regarding the reception of the displaced.
Sheikh Qassem also praised "the eagerness of the young (fighters) to join the field and their unwavering commitment [which] is a beacon of hope and dignity." "Their sacrifices only strengthen our determination to liberate our homeland and restore our dignity," he said, noting that although Hezbollah does not announce casualties in its ranks, experts estimate that hundreds of militiamen have been killed in recent weeks, based in part on funeral announcements in supporter groups on social media.
'Israel has not succeeded in launching its ground invasion'
Naim Qassem also praised his party’s military efforts, stating that "the Israeli enemy has not succeeded in facing Hezbollah on the battlefields." According to him, Israel "has failed to launch the ground invasion it has repeatedly announced." "Its soldiers and officers have fallen into ambushes set by the resistance fighters, and its vehicles have been destroyed at junctions in the towns and villages. It has constantly changed objectives: sometimes targeting the Litani River, sometimes aiming for a limited advance, sometimes control by fire, sometimes betting on fire and destruction. Despite its aggression for more than forty days, the enemy has not managed to prevent rockets, missiles, and drones from reaching its localities, near or far, as far as Haifa and beyond," he added.
The Israeli army has taken control and systematically demolished frontline villages in the south. On the coast, it managed to capture Bayyada and Shamaa, about eight kilometers from the border, entered Bint Jbeil, where it faces combat with the party-militia fighters, and also advanced in several towns in the eastern sector, where it has reinforced its positions in recent weeks.
