Israeli army advances in the South because Hezbollah 'emptied it for the sake of those humiliated in power,' says Comati

BEIRUT — Mahmoud Comati, a member of Hezbollah’s Political Council, again made sharp remarks against the Lebanese state on Sunday, saying that the Israeli army "managed to advance a few kilometers in the South because we had emptied it for the sake of those humiliated in power in Lebanon."

Hezbollah officially withdrew from south of the Litani following the cease-fire agreement between Lebanon and Israel (endorsed by Hezbollah) at the end of November 2024. The deal mirrored the main provisions of U.N. Resolution 1701 (2006), which ended the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel.

Comati also criticized the Lebanese state’s decision, approved in August 2025, to establish a monopoly over weapons and, in effect, move toward disarming Hezbollah.

"The president of the Republic [Joseph Aoun] or others, with a government majority, want to strike at the resistance during this term. They must know that they are only a passing phase that comes and goes, while we, rooted in this country, will remain the dignity, honor, strength, freedom and liberation of this nation," Comati said.

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"If some want to take our weapons, they want to take our souls; and if they want to take our souls, then we will take theirs," he added.

He also said that "the [Israeli] enemy is crying out and calling on all the countries of the world to save it from the trap it has fallen into ... We are openly allied with Iran and we are proud of it," and "the cease-fire would not even have been considered without Iranian pressure," the Hezbollah official added.

Hezbollah rejects direct talks between the Lebanese state and Israel, as a new round of meetings are scheduled for Friday in Washington.

Hezbollah secretary-general Naim Qassem also escalated his rhetoric against the Lebanese state on Sunday, promising that the party "will face with all [its] strength all those who confront it, without hesitation." He added that "the people have the right to take to the streets to bring down the government."