Join on WhatsApp 
Join on Telegram Rabat – Hezbollah’s deputy leader, Naim Qassem, delivered a televised address today responding to recent Israeli attacks on Lebanon and the assassination of the group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah, emphasizing that the group’s ability to resist remains intact despite Israel’s efforts.
Qassem asserted that Israeli and Western attempts to “put fear” into Hezbollah have failed, stating, “Our military capabilities are fine. What our enemies say about our fighting capabilities is an illusion. They are lying.”
He praised Nasrallah for instilling fear in Israel, and stated that the group continues to enjoy widespread support from Lebanon and the broader region. He also hailed Hamas for its October 7 attack on southern Israel a year ago, referring to it as “the first step for change” towards Palestinian liberation.
Qassem condemned Israel’s deadly attacks on Gaza, including “killing women, killing children, killing elderly.” He further criticized the US and certain European countries for their involvement in supporting Israeli aggression, stating, “We consider the United States a fundamental partner in all the crimes taking place in Gaza.”
Amid ongoing ground incursions into southern Lebanon by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF), Qassem highlighted Hezbollah’s continued resistance, emphasizing that Israeli efforts to destabilize Lebanon by targeting civilians and villages will not prove victorious. “The Israeli plan is to kill Lebanese civilians and empty villages to cause chaos. But I tell them, your efforts are a failure,” he said.
Qassem also announced that Hezbollah would soon elect a new secretary-general to replace Nasrallah and promised to reveal the appointment in due course. Meanwhile, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for several attacks on Israeli targets, including a drone strike on the Al-Baghdadi outpost in northern Israel, marking the seventh such operation in a single day.
Meanwhile, Israel has expanded its attacks on southern Lebanon in addition to other parts of the country, killing around a thousand people. Just yesterday into last night, the IOF carried out a strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut near the international airport. According to the Lebanese National News Agency, Monday was the worst series of airstrikes that the country has seen since the IOF escalated their bombardment on the region on September 23.
