Sheikh Naim Qassem Rejects Talks with Israel, Warns Hezbollah Will Capture Soldiers

Hezbollah Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem maintained on Monday that Lebanon is facing an aggression which does not observe any humanitarian or moral consideration, stressing that it is a clear occupation.

In a televised speech, Sheikh Qassem said, “We remained steadfast, the fighters stood firm, and our people and Lebanon endured; and with all capabilities we were able to reach a point where the state signed an indirect agreement with the enemy in November 2024.”

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We have been facing a brutal Israeli-American aggression since the beginning of the Battle of Formidable in Might, His Eminence added.

The agreement stipulated a complete cessation of aggression, the release of prisoners, and the start of reconstruction, Sheikh Qassem noted.

“We endured for 15 months despite Israel not implementing any clause of the agreement. We exercised patience, and diplomacy did not advance a single step despite hundreds of martyrs and wounded, while the aggression against Lebanon continued at the same pace with full American support.”

“We responded at the appropriate time and confirmed that this timing was suitable to move toward implementing the agreement, only to discover that a very large-scale aggressive plan had been prepared for Lebanon. We deprived the enemy of the element of surprise and prevented very significant losses that could have occurred,” Sheikh Qassem said.

Sheikh Qassem warned that the enemy’s objectives are clear: to destroy the strength that Lebanon possesses as a prelude to “Greater Israel,” adding: “For the record, all of Lebanon is targeted. When Israel occupies southern Lebanon, it means occupying Lebanon, and when it spreads its killing across Lebanese territory, it means all of Lebanon is targeted.”

“In the case of aggression, the Lebanese state is supposed to confront it and task its army and forces with defending against it. The state’s failure to confront may be justified by its weakness and inability, but it cannot be justified for the state to become a tool for Israel by exerting pressure and making governmental decisions that weaken the internal situation in the face of aggression,” Hezbollah Chief added.

“Israel, along with the United States, has clearly stated that they want to strengthen the army in order to disarm Hezbollah and fight it. They want the state to dismantle the party’s various institutions and eliminate the existence of the resistance, its people, and all who support it. They want to support the army to the extent that it becomes capable of fighting its own people, which the army cannot and will not do.”

“Because we are existentially targeted, because our homeland is targeted by the project of ‘Greater Israel’, and because our country’s independence is threatened—and no one has the right to impose decisions upon us—we have decided to confront and resist in defense of Lebanon and its people, and we are waging the Battle of the Eaten Straw in this sense.

We fight under this title and slogan, and we are rightful, having been aggressed against along with our homeland by the Israeli-American enemy, HIs Eminence said.

This is not a “security of the north” battle, but rather an aggression aimed at devouring Lebanon and eliminating its strength, its people, and its resistance, Sheikh Qassem maintained.

Hezbollah Secretary General addressed the Lebanese President Joseph Aoun: “Your Excellency the President, they are pressuring you to confront your own people, while we are together as sons of one country, building and establishing it together.”

Addressing Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Sheikh Qassem asked: “What have those who pressure Lebanon offered since the formation of your government?”

“All their demands aim to ignite internal strife and provide justifications for the enemy,” Sheikh Qassem affirmed.

“Let us confront the aggression together, and afterward we can agree on the future and everything else. Our decision in the resistance is that we will neither calm down nor surrender—the battlefield will speak.”

Negotiations

Sheikh Qassem underlined Hezbollah rejection of negotiations with the usurping entity, stressing that these negotiations are futile and require a Lebanese consensus to shift the course from non-negotiation to direct negotiation.

“This is part of a series of free concessions made by the authority, and practical evidence has shown that they are losing concessions that humiliate us and cause losses for both the Lebanese government and people. You say you want a ceasefire, but what do they say, and what leverage do you have in your hands?”

Sheikh Qassem said that this negotiation is submission and surrender, calling for a heroic stance to cancel this negotiation, and the countries will then come running after you.

“You will establish the use of strength factors in confronting the “Israeli” enemy and compel it to implement the agreements,” His Eminence added.

“Let the November agreement be implemented, and enough of the authority disavowing and antagonizing the resistance, at a time when it should be supporting it and benefiting from its capabilities. How strange you are! By Allah, you neither fight nor allow anyone to fight; you neither confront nor allow anyone to confront. Go and look at the Israeli enemy—everyone fights.”

The enemy seeks to maintain their occupation and expand their reserves, benefiting from every soldier they have, His Eminence noted.

“The authority is responsible for sovereignty, liberation, and the protection of citizens. Tell us what you have done and what you have achieved? On the contrary, you are wasting. If you are unable, then either remain silent or let us cooperate.”

“The only path that achieves sovereignty is the implementation of the agreement: a complete cessation of aggression, immediate withdrawal from all territories, release of prisoners, and the return of people to their villages and cities down to the last house along the border strip and Lebanon’s borders,” His Eminence said, “Reconstruction must be carried out through an official decision and international support, with responsibility shared by all supporters.”

These five points must be implemented first, and then we Lebanese know how to make our decisions, His Eminence stressed.

“Some ask: if the aggression continues, how long do we remain? We face two choices: surrender—which will not happen—or confrontation.”

“Let the Lebanese officials think about how to confront the aggression by all means. If anyone is thinking of surrender, let them go and surrender alone; we will not surrender and will remain in the field until the last breath. We will confront, we seek justice, and we present a model to the world that Lebanon—through its army, people, and resistance—is resilient against the enemy.”

“As long as the authority facilitates the aggression, it will continue; let us join hands to think about how to exit this crisis,” Sheikh Qassem warned, “Do not distort the facts; we are fighting a clear enemy. This is Lebanon’s war against the Israeli–American enemy, not the wars of others. Our land is being occupied and our youth are being killed.”

Sheikh Qassem wondered, “Where are the wars of others?”

“Our fighters are present in the field, writing the greatest epics, displaying remarkable heroic performance, and we have those who are more honorable and greater than those brave fighters,” His Emiennce affirmed, “We are unable to accommodate the number of those willing to go to the frontlines. They have a connection with Allah that enables them to achieve accomplishments. These are the sons of Hussein; they do not bow their heads except to Allah.”

“We are victorious from now and at every moment, despite great sacrifices, and we have youth fighting with a high martyrdom-driven spirit. Victory means inflicting pain on the enemy—and we are doing so. Victory means preventing the enemy from achieving its goals—and it will not achieve them. Victory means not allowing it to settle—and it will not settle. Some of us are martyred while others continue. We are Karbala-oriented; we do not surrender in humiliation but fight until martyrdom or victory, as embodied by Imam Hussein (peace be upon him).”

Capturing Israeli Soldiers

Sheikh Qassem said, “Let it be known and clear: the field has proven that the resistance has prepared itself with silence and ambiguity. The fighters engage in hit-and-run tactics, using various means of resistance, and whenever the opportunity arises, we will capture enemy soldiers.”

“At any opportunity, we will capture, and we will fight the enemy from behind, from its right, and from its left. We will not allow it to settle; it will live in fear. The resistance, with its capabilities and methods, is not merely direct engagement or border fighting—it is, above all, faith, will, and capability. We have no measure of time or scale of sacrifices; our measure is to remain steadfast, keep our heads held high, and liberate the land.”

Sheikh Qassem threatened the Zionists that their settlements will not be safe.

“You demolish homes to turn the land barren and create a buffer zone—this is a grave crime for which you are responsible. This will be difficult for you; reconstruction and the return of residents are essential conditions for ending the aggression.”

“When the army’s deployment south of the Litani River succeeded, it was due to constructive cooperation between the authority and the resistance, and between the army and the resistance,” Sheikh Qassem said, “When the army deployed, we facilitated it; not a single incident occurred, and the army did not have to take any negative measures.”

“Today, when the political authority takes decisions on March 2 and criminalizes the resistance, considering its fighters outlaws, how can coordination be expected to organize Lebanon’s situation? This criminalization is a grave mistake, and this government must retract it—retraction is a virtue.”

“If you want your country, your homeland, and unity—show us this in practice. You have taken a decision and stabbed the resistance in the back. I call on the political authority to retract this decision; for us, it is not a valid decision, and the authority has no right to take it without national consensus.”

“I call on the Lebanese government to reverse its decision; this is part of Lebanon’s sovereignty, and the political authority is capable of doing so. Through this, cooperation between the authority, the resistance, and the people will increase, enabling us to protect the homeland,” His Eminence added.

“The occupation will end, even if after some time. We are the owners of the land, and we will raise Lebanon’s head high. You will remain anxious; this country cannot accept killers at checkpoints, nor those who gossip about the President of the Republic and others. Correct your behavior and stand with the homeland.”

“They want the army to fight the resistance in order to eliminate it and seize its decision. Praise be to Allah, the army is aware and mature; it cannot be drawn into sedition, and the resistance also cannot be drawn into sedition,” Sheikh Qassem said.

“We stand with our Sunni brothers as one heart; they will not succeed in creating strife among us, and we will not allow it to emerge among the honorable people of this country. Just as they try to divide Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, we are all sons of Imam Musa Al-Sadr. Christians and Muslims are our brothers in homeland, in faith, and in the heavenly messages; what unites us is greater than what divides us,” Sheikh Qassem underscored.

Addressing Arab Countries

Sheikh Qassem addressed some Gulf countries, especially Kuwait and Bahrain, saying “We do not have cells in your countries—what interest do you have in fabricating accusations against us?”

“We have denied three times the existence of any cells in these countries, yet this accusation continues to be repeated without any evidence. We must cooperate; there is an Israeli project that we must confront, and it targets everyone.”

– I believe that the Syrian leadership and the Syrian people are aware that the United States is working to create a problem, His Eminence added.

Addressing the Displaced

“You are people of honor and sacrifice, and your patience has astonished the world. We are from you and you are from us. You have thrown a stone at the enemy, thwarted the enemy of sedition and those who incite it, and proven that you possess the worthiness of life. Direct your anger only toward ‘Israel’, and we take lessons and inspiration from you,” Sheikh Qassem addressed the displaced citizens.

“We have suffered significant losses in Lebanon due to the occupation, and we have no option but resistance,” His Eminence added.

Sheikh Qassem indicated that Hezbollah tested patience for 15 months, yet that the scale of destruction during 60 days of the truce was far greater than during the battles of “Al-Aqsa Flood” and “Formidable in Might.”

“Had we not taken the decision to confront, the losses would have been greater. We are repelling the aggression against us, and the enemy is the cause—look at the enemy’s losses. We suffer, and they suffer, but we hope from Allah what they do not hope for.”

Iran

Sheikh Qassem noted that the enemies seek to strip Iran of its power in order to plunder its wealth, but “praise be to Allah, Iran surprised them with its steadfastness, sacrifices, and capabilities.”

“They killed the Supreme Leader along with a group of leaders and members of the people, but Iran unified, appointed a new leader—Sayyed Mojtaba—and restored its leadership structure, with the people present in the field. God willing, Iran will be victorious. When Iran included Lebanon in the ceasefire, some in Lebanon were disturbed.”

Sheikh Qassem stressed that Lebanon must cooperate with Iran and with all countries that can support the Lebanese people.

“Thanks to Iran for its support and for exerting pressure on America and “Israel,” and thanks to Yemen, Iraq, and all who have assisted.”

Hezbollah Secretary General asserted that the Lebanese state must correct its position toward Iran,