Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem delivered a televised address tonight, his second since the militant group initiated the round of fighting on March 2. He spoke as raids continued throughout Beirut’s southern suburbs, on the occasion of International Quds Day, an annual anti-Israel event founded by Ayatollah Khomeini.
Qassem called on Israel to launch a ground invasion and suffer defeat, saying that the party was prepared for a long war. He repeatedly stressed that the ongoing battle is Lebanese, while reiterating the party’s support for the Palestinian cause and Iranian resistance to U.S.-Israeli pressure.
Developments on the Border
The war has escalated in both scope and intensity since Qassem’s March 5 remarks, with Israeli strikes increasingly targeting Beirut, the Bekaa valley, and south Lebanon.
On March 11, Hezbollah launched its largest barrage yet including 200 missiles and 20 drones in coordination with a simultaneous Iranian attack, which Israel responded to with heavy strikes across Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the army to expand operations warning that without more enforcement by the Lebanese army, the IDF would launch a larger invasion in Lebanon. U.S. President Donald Trump authorized an expansion in Israeli ground incursions, according to Israel’s Hayom.
A Lebanese Battle
Despite stating that the decision to reignite the conflict crystallized after Khamenei's death, Naim Qassem insisted the war was fundamentally Lebanese, stressing that U.S. and Israeli “aggression” had brought the war to Hezbollah.
He said, “We repeatedly warned that… there was a limit to our patience, and after the aggression against Iran and Khamenei's martyrdom, we found that the circumstances had become suitable for us to confront this enemy.”
“The debate is not about who started it or who is fighting; we consider ourselves to be in a position of legitimate defense,” Qassem stated.
Alternatives to Fighting
Qassem attempted to undermine any peaceful resolution saying, “Diplomatic solutions have failed to stop the attacks, and there is no solution except resistance, otherwise Lebanon will be doomed.”
He decried the Lebanese state’s proposed initiative to facilitate direct talks with Israeli officials saying, “we ask the government to stop making gratuitous concessions, as this only emboldens the enemy and prolongs the war.”
In a comment directed at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Secretary-General said, “Your threats are worthless, and you should be afraid for yourself because you have taken your people to a very bad place.”
Long Battle Ahead
The Secretary-General stressed that Israel had exhausted its target bank—the list of individuals and locales which Israel uses to direct its attacks. He said, “The enemy now lacks the ability to achieve its goals, and we have prepared ourselves for a long confrontation. God willing, we will surprise them on the battlefield.”
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