Hezbollah will not surrender, as the “death the enemy threatens us with as a weapon is not something we dread,” Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem declared on Friday. Emphasizing the group’s resolve, he asserted that “according to our principles, victory is defined by prevailing steadfastness,” adding that “losses, no matter how massive, are better than capitulation.”
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In a speech delivered at the central Ashura council, Sheikh Qassem questioned, “As long as we are capable of steadfastness, why should we surrender?” and, “When there is clearly ongoing Israeli aggression, why is it not being fought against?”
He asserted that Lebanon is currently passing through the most dangerous phase in its history, amid the challenges and assaults it is facing.
“The campaign led against us today aims to end the Resistance and its people and to completely eliminate its existence from Lebanon,” Sheikh Qassem asserted.
In this context, he explained that plotters “want to implement their scheme through the criminal Israeli war on Lebanon, which observes no restraints in killing,” adding that “the retreat of Israel and the US from the November 27 agreement came after the fall of Syria because they considered that the balance of power had shifted.
The Secretary-General of Hezbollah further asserted that “their scheme stipulated making the political echelon the façade that carries out all actions leading to confronting the Resistance.”
Closing crossings, preventing the arrival of weapons, technologies
Sheikh Qassem said they “wanted to close the aerial, maritime, and land crossings to prevent any access to weapons, technologies, and everything that could strengthen the Resistance.”
He added that “the scheme was also aimed at preventing reconstruction so that people would remain displaced and uprooted,” resulting in the support base turning against the Resistance. This, he indicated, was carried out alongside “an implacable financial siege so that we cannot manage [the situation] and so that we can never recover.”
Hezbollah’s Secretary-General also pointed out that they tried to “incite strife between the army and the Resistance,” yet “the awareness of the Army and its officials nipped this sedition in the bud.”
Another attempt, according to Sheikh Qassem, was inciting a “Sunni-Shia strife under the pretext of protecting the position of the prime minister through the decisions he would take against the Resistance,” noting the existence of “an Arab-international cover, from some countries, pressuring in all directions in Israel’s interest against the Resistance, under different titles and forms.”
In a concluding remark, he stressed that “America is the maestro that leads this scheme with all its details and in all directions, using all available capabilities at its disposal.”
Inherent ‘right to defend, liberate the land’
Outlining the movement’s strategic outlook, military evolution, and political position, Hezbollah’s Secretary-General delivered remarks emphasizing continued resistance and rejecting any prospect of withdrawal or defeat.
“Our strong goal and project is our right to defend and liberate the land,” he stated, pointing out that the Resistance “adjusted its combat methods and combat doctrine in line with its experience and existing circumstances.”
Sheikh Qassem affirmed that the Resistance “developed appropriate arms capabilities and drones, achieved thanks to the ingenuity of our fighters,” which helped the Resistance “take a Karbala-inspired decision, where there are no limits” in fighting, a fact that remains in effect and is evident on the battlefield.
In conclusion, he asserted that “the project to end Hezbollah and consolidate occupation has collapsed,” vowing that “the Israelis will be forced out of every last inch of our land.”
