This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said on Wednesday that the resistance had succeeded in “thwarting the Greater Israel project” and protecting what he described as Lebanon’s existence from plans of “extermination and displacement”.
In a recorded speech, Qassem said that the basis of any negotiations with Israel should be “mutual security”, reiterating the group’s firm rejection of any proposal to disarm Hezbollah. He described such proposals as an “Israeli prescription” that would not be accepted.
He called on the Lebanese authorities and political forces to engage in internal dialogue to organise national affairs away from external dictates or any direct negotiations, stressing Hezbollah’s readiness to cooperate on efforts to protect Lebanon’s sovereignty.
READ: Israel cannot stop home demolitions in southern Lebanon: Ben-Gvir
Discussing the conflict, Qassem said developments since 1948 reflected what he described as Israeli expansionist ambitions, which he said reached their peak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement of what he called the “Greater Israel” project.
He added that the issue was not about future intentions but rather “an ongoing aggression and continuous crimes against civilians”, claiming that women and children were being targeted under international cover.
Qassem said the Israeli project aimed to eliminate Hezbollah militarily, culturally and socially, arguing that this would amount to “the destruction of a large segment of Lebanese society”. He added: “We are not fighting only for land, but in defence of our existence and our future.”
He also reviewed what he described as the resistance’s achievements against Israeli occupation, saying they had helped prevent Israel from achieving stability or expanding its influence in the region.
OPINION: When the Iran War is over: Why the West Bank may be Netanyahu’s next front
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
- Israeli army urges government to preserve freedom to strike across Lebanon
- The U.S.-Iran deal: What has changed and what does this mean for the region?
- The occupation targeted a vehicle in central Gaza City, resulting in several fatalities and injuries
- Trump open to Iran keeping nuclear enrichment rights as new deal takes shape
- 50 Palestinian Bedouin, herding communities displaced since late 2023, rights body says
- Project Freedom and the end of the Arabs’ automatic “yes” to Washington
- Israel tops UN list of grave violations against children in 2025
- US-Iran memorandum of understanding formally finalized after presidents sign text
- Iran to charge ships for services in Strait of Hormuz, parliament speaker says
- Palestinian female prisoner Lama Khater details alleged abuse in Israeli prisons
- Hezbollah chief: Resistance thwarted ‘Greater Israel’ project, disarmament will not pass
- US envoy says ‘without Israel, there would be no America’
- Maximum pressure: How Trump spent five years proving Obama was right about Iran
- Trump says US will have to give Iran’s money back
- When the Iran War is over: Why the West Bank may be Netanyahu’s next front
- Is Israel Losing Its American Shield? | Palestine This Week with Mouin Rabbani
- Israel cannot stop home demolitions in southern Lebanon: Ben-Gvir
- Italy to reopen embassy in Tehran on Friday
- Trump turns on Israel over Lebanon war, says Syria could fight Hezbollah better
- The war that failed to define Iran
- US: Clinton says Netanyahu is ‘obsessed’ with Iran, Saudi normalisation
- Israel approves Jewish religious school construction in occupied West Bank’s Hebron
- Pope Leo stresses need for US-Iran deal to enhance security, stability across Middle East
- Israeli Security Minister Ben-Gvir appoints relatives of slain Israelis as prison inspectors: Reports
- Iran won, power no longer looks the same
- When peace becomes a media battlefield
- ‘Without me there is no Israel’ says Trump warning Tel-Aviv to stop flattening homes
- UAE plans to cut Strait of Hormuz dependency to ‘zero’: Report
- Israeli occupiers set fire to 2 mosques, army demolishes Palestinian home in occupied West Bank
- Trump says Iran pact ‘not final,’ warns of renewed strikes
- HRW: Israel escalating home demolitions, evictions in East Jerusalem
- Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya warns Israel of ‘harsh response’ over southern Lebanon violations
- The art of the recycled deal: Trump and the outcome Israel cannot tolerate
- Al-Aqsa preacher says opening of embassies in Jerusalem will not change its Palestinian status
- Trump considers dismissing senior officials opposed to Iran deal, including defence secretary, CIA chief
- Israel strips Hebron Municipality of planning and construction powers
- Podcast by Jasim Al-Azzawi with Ronnie Chatah: Will The Big Boys Squeeze Lebanon?
- Israeli media: UAE security delegation visited Israel secretly during Iran war
- US rejects Israeli request to review Iran agreement memorandum, Hebrew media report
- Call for Hamas de-proscription
- Iraq’s bid to rein in Iran-linked militias becomes key test of US ties
- Israeli analysts call Netanyahu ‘liar,’ ‘humiliated’ by Trump after US-Iran deal
- Iran, Oman reaffirm commitment to ‘safe, free’ navigation through Hormuz after US deal
- Switzerland confirms US-Iran memorandum signing set for Friday at Burgenstock
- 4 killed in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon despite US-Iran understanding
- The international community is fast losing its diplomatic relevance
- Trump says Strait of Hormuz to be fully reopened by Friday on permanent basis
- Germany says Hormuz mine-clearing mission depends on US, Iran consent
- US-Iran deal may be seen as ‘betrayal’ in Israel, ex-premier Olmert says
- Israel kills 2 Palestinians in strike on civilians in central Gaza
