Hezbollah signals hardline stance, linking armed resistance to national unity.
WEB DESK: Hezbollah’s newly appointed deputy leader, Naim Qassem, delivered a defiant message to Lebanon and the international community Wednesday, dismissing any negotiations with Israel while military attacks persist.
In a televised statement read on his behalf, Qassem described the notion of peace talks amid active strikes as an attempt to force “surrender” on Lebanon, according to reports by the Express Tribune.
The Hezbollah-affiliated media broadcast targeted the Lebanese presidency’s recent diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the conflict. Qassem asserted that engaging with an “enemy that occupies our land” while under bombardment is unacceptable.
Beyond military concerns, Qassem challenged domestic policy, calling on the government to reverse its March 2 decision banning Hezbollah’s armed activities. He framed the reversal as essential for genuine “national unity,” insisting that Lebanon could only achieve solidarity by embracing the party’s resistance rather than curbing it.
“Fighters remain prepared to engage without limits,” Qassem warned, signaling a deepening impasse between Hezbollah and state authorities. By tying the lifting of the military ban to national cohesion, the party is intensifying pressure on the Lebanese government to align with its long-term strategy.
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