Speech by Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem:
At the outset, I extend my congratulations to Christians on the occasion of Easter, and we ask God to guide us to follow the path of Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) in love, social service, and noble morals that serve humanity.
This aggression does not take into account any humanitarian or ethical considerations. It is an occupation.
We, the resistance, our people, and Lebanon have remained steadfast, and with all available means we were able to reach a point where the state signed an indirect agreement with the enemy in November 2024.
We have been facing brutal Israeli-American aggression since the beginning of the “Uli al-Ba’s” battle.
The agreement stipulated a complete cessation of aggression, the release of prisoners, and the beginning of reconstruction.
For 15 months, we endured Israel’s failure to implement any part of the agreement.
We were patient, and diplomacy did not advance even one step, despite hundreds of martyrs and wounded, while the aggression against Lebanon continued with full American support.
We responded at the appropriate time and confirmed that this was the right moment to move toward implementing the agreement. It then became clear that a major aggressive plan had been prepared for Lebanon, and we deprived the enemy of the element of surprise and prevented very significant losses that could have occurred.
The enemy’s objectives are clear: to destroy Lebanon’s strength as a prelude to “Greater Israel.”
For the record, all of Lebanon is targeted. When Israel occupies southern Lebanon, it effectively occupies the entire country, and when it spreads its attacks across Lebanese territory, it means all of Lebanon is targeted.
In the event of aggression, the Lebanese state is supposed to respond and assign its army and forces to confront the attack.
Mr. President, they are pressuring you to confront your own people, while we are one nation building it together.
Mr. Prime Minister, what have those who are pressuring Lebanon achieved since the formation of your government? All their demands are aimed at igniting internal strife and providing justifications for the enemy.
The state’s failure to confront the aggression may be explained by its weakness and inability, but it cannot be justified if the state becomes a tool for Israel by taking decisions that weaken the internal situation in the face of aggression.
Israel has clearly stated, along with the United States, that they want to strengthen the army to disarm Hezbollah and fight it, and they want the state to eliminate the party’s various institutions and eradicate the existence of the resistance, its supporters, and everyone who backs it.
They want to support the army to the extent that it would be capable of fighting its own people, which the army will never do.
Because we are existentially targeted, and because our country is targeted by the project of “Greater Israel,” and because our nation’s independence is under threat—and no one has the right to impose decisions on us—we have chosen confrontation and resistance in defense of Lebanon and its people, and we are engaged in this battle accordingly.
We are fighting under this banner and slogan, and we are in the right, having been subjected to aggression along with our homeland by the Israeli-American enemy.
This is not a “northern security” battle, but an aggression aimed at consuming Lebanon, destroying its strength, its people, and its resistance.
Let us confront the aggression together, and afterward we can discuss the future and everything else.
Our decision in the resistance is that we will not calm down or surrender—the battlefield speaks.
We reject negotiations with the occupying entity. These negotiations are futile and require a unified Lebanese consensus to shift the direction toward direct confrontation instead of negotiation.
This is part of a series of free concessions made by the authority, which have proven in practice to be losing concessions that humiliate both the government and the Lebanese people.
You say you want a ceasefire, but what are they saying, and what leverage do you have?
This negotiation is submission and surrender. We call for a courageous stance to cancel it, and countries will follow your lead, allowing you to use elements of strength to confront the Israeli enemy and force it to implement agreements.
Let the November agreement be implemented. Enough of the authority distancing itself from the resistance and treating it as an adversary at a time when it should support and benefit from its capabilities.
It is astonishing—you neither fight nor allow others to fight; you neither confront nor allow others to confront. Look at the Israeli enemy—everyone fights.
They want to maintain their occupation and expand it, using every soldier available.
The authority is responsible for sovereignty, liberation, and the protection of citizens.
Tell us, what have you done and what have you achieved? On the contrary, you are losing.
If you cannot act, then either remain silent or let us cooperate.
The only path that achieves sovereignty is implementing the agreement: stopping the aggression completely, immediate withdrawal from all territories, the release of prisoners, and the return of people to their villages and cities, down to the last house along the border.
Reconstruction must take place through an official decision with international support and shared responsibility.
You are demolishing homes to turn them into barren land and creating a buffer zone—this is a grave crime.
These five points must be implemented first, and then we, the Lebanese, will decide how to proceed.
Some ask: if the aggression continues, how long will we remain? We are faced with two choices—surrender, which will not happen, or confrontation.
Officials must think about how to confront the aggression using all available means.
If anyone is thinking of surrender, let them surrender alone—we will not surrender. We will remain on the ground until the last breath.
We are being attacked—we are not the aggressors.
As long as the authority facilitates the aggression, it will continue. Let us join hands to find a way out of this crisis.
Do not distort the facts. We are fighting a clear enemy. This is Lebanon’s war against the Israeli-American enemy, not anyone else’s war. Our land is occupied, and our youth are being killed.
Where are the so-called “other wars”?
We share with others the position that Israel is our enemy, and that is significant.
The United States, with all its power and brutality, seeks allies to impose its project on the world.
We wish that Arab, Islamic, and other countries would participate in confronting this aggression and arrogance.
Our fighters are present on the battlefield, achieving remarkable feats with exceptional performance.
We cannot accommodate the number of those willing to go to the front.
They have a connection with God that enables them to achieve victories.
They are the sons of Hussein—they bow to no one but God.
We are victorious at every moment despite great sacrifices, and we have young men fighting with a high spirit of martyrdom.
Victory is to hurt the enemy—and we are doing so. Victory is that the enemy does not achieve its goals—and it will not. Victory is that we do not allow it to settle—and it will not.
Some of us are martyred while others continue. We do not surrender—we fight until martyrdom or victory, as embodied by Imam Hussein (peace be upon him).
The battlefield has proven that the resistance has prepared itself in silence and ambiguity. Fighters use hit-and-run tactics and various methods, and whenever the opportunity arises, we will capture enemy soldiers.
At any opportunity, we will capture and fight the enemy from all directions.
We will not allow them to settle—they will live in fear. Resistance is not only direct confrontation or border fighting—it is, above all, faith, will, and capability.
We do not measure time or the scale of sacrifices; our measure is steadfastness, dignity, and liberation.
These settlements will not be safe.
Reconstruction and the return of residents are essential conditions to end the aggression.
