Hezbollah Chief: We can defeat Israel

Shafaq News – Beirut

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem declared Friday that the group is fully capable of confronting and defeating Israel, asserting that the recent ceasefire marks a new stage defined by the responsibility of the Lebanese state.

Qassem said Hezbollah deemed the support of Gaza as “a necessary and rightful duty,” emphasizing that the group remained steadfast and continued to strike Israel until the ceasefire was reached.

He also warned against misjudging Hezbollah’s resolve, stating, “Do you think we will remain silent forever? That’s not true. We are a people who say ‘never to humiliation’—and you have tested us.”

The ongoing ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, brokered in November 2024, was intended to end months of cross-border hostilities. Under the agreement, Israeli forces were to withdraw from southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah fighters were to redeploy north of the Litani River. The Lebanese Army and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were tasked with securing the area.

However, Lebanese authorities report that Israel has violated the ceasefire more than 3,000 times since its inception on November 27. These violations include airstrikes, artillery shelling, airspace intrusions by drones, and ground incursions along the border. Despite international monitoring, Israel has maintained five outposts in Lebanese territory beyond the withdrawal deadlines.

These actions have caused heavy civilian casualties and widespread destruction across southern Lebanon.