Hezbollah Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qassem confirmed on Saturday that “the support front will be maintained in Lebanon as long as the war in Gaza continues,” adding that the extent of this support will depend on the scale of Israeli aggression, which is increasingly targeting civilians. He stressed that settlers will only be able to return to their villages in northern Israel once the war in the Gaza Strip is over.
Qassem’s remarks came as part of a ceremony in memory of a Hezbollah fighter, Hani Ezzeddine, who died on Wednesday after an Israeli strike on southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah’s number two responded to threats of a possible war that could spread to Lebanon by saying, “This does not frighten us and will not make us waver in our commitment to end the aggression in Gaza.”
In this context, he stressed that the pro-Iranian group “has no intention of starting a war, which it deems pointless, especially as the losses will be enormous on both sides.” He added, “If the Israelis believe that a war will allow the inhabitants of the north to return to their villages, they are mistaken. In such a case, they should expect thousands of displaced people to leave their homes.” He concluded, “Think calmly and make your decision, because we will be ready for any eventuality.”
Qassem also discussed the results of the strikes that targeted the Galilut and Ain Shimer bases on August 25, in response to the assassination by the Israelis of Fouad Shokr, one of Hezbollah’s top commanders, on July 30, in the southern suburbs of Beirut. Calling the al-Mayadeen report, which states that 22 members of Israel’s Unit 8200 intelligence service were killed and 74 wounded in these attacks, “accurate and reliable,” he asked, “Why didn’t the Hebrew state send its media or members of its government to the two targeted bases to deny what the resistance had announced? Why did the head of Israel’s elite military intelligence unit resign now and not before?” He also pointed out Israel’s attempts to “conceal the truth by all means, to mask its defeat.”
