Hezbollah’s Deputy Leader, Naim Qassem has asserted in a televised speech that the militant group moved from a supporting role to directly “confronting” Israel after the September 17 pager attacks and September 27 killing of leader Hassan Nasrallah.
He pointed out that Hezbollah is dealing now with this confrontation as a separate war and, for the group, it is not a support front for Gaza any more.
In his speech, Hezbollah’s Deputy Leader projected more confidence in the collective leadership of Hezbollah.
Qassem’s message was that the group has already turned the page of the assassination of its leader, Hasan Nasrallah and the pager and walkie-talkie attacks.
Qassem said that Hezbollah has capabilities to hit the whole map of Israel, and the group has been adopting a new strategy that is inflicting pain on Israel.
Also, Qassem stated that the Lebanese group considers Israel “an aggressor” that represents a real threat to the region.
He said that Israel wants to expand its occupation and “Palestine is not enough.” He claimed that Israel also wants to control all the “territory of the Arab states and all the Muslims.”
He noted that Israel carries out “a policy of massacres and it is depending on a policy of all sins that can be committed on Earth.”
According to Qassem, Israel wants three things: it wants to terrify people through brutal crimes, it seeks the full support of the US government and it depends on time – “what cannot be taken today can be taken tomorrow.”
Additionally, Qassem emphasized that Hezbollah’s conflict with Israel cannot be separated from the fight for Palestine.
“We consider our resistance to be legitimate. Those who are fighting for their land are the Palestinians. We will support them. If we did not face Israel, it would achieve its goals of expansionism.”
Naim Qassem
He mentioned that with Al-Aqsa Flood – the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, the Palestinians led by Hamas “tried to get rid of the occupier.”
He noted that Hamas and the Palestinians said to the world that “75 years have passed and the occupation is still there on our land, killing us.”
He asserted that the Palestinians have the right to do something that will “shake the occupation and stop it from expanding.”
Instead of asking why Al-Aqsa Flood happened, Qassem stated that one “should ask why the occupation is still there.”
Furthermore, he accused the US of aiding Israeli in “its brutal crimes” in the region.
“America, the biggest devil, wants a new Middle East. Netanyahu wants the same thing. That means the US and Israel are doing this genocide purposely.”
Naim Qassem
Qassem Deems Ceasefire Best Outcome To Conflict
Moreover, Hezbollah Deputy Leader, Naim Qassem posited that the best possible outcome to the conflict is for Israel to stop attacking Lebanon and Gaza. “I’m telling the Israelis, the solution is to stop firing. The solution is a ceasefire … After a ceasefire, the [Israeli] settlers can return to the north,” he said.
He stated that more than two million Israelis in the north will be under constant threat if Israel keeps the war going in Lebanon and Gaza.
“The resistance will never be defeated because they’re the ones that own the land. They will fight and die in dignity. Victory will come with patience.”
Naim Qassem
He noted that the Lebanese group was asked to move 10km (6.2 miles) from the southern border, but it insists on a ceasefire in Gaza before reaching an agreement.
He added that if the war continues, the number of evacuated towns in northern Israel will increase significantly.
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