Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary General Naim Qassem has vowed on Monday that the Iranian-backed group will “continue” the fight against Israel despite the losses it has suffered with the killing of its powerful leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
In the first appearance of a high-ranking Hezbollah official since the devastating Israeli strike that killed Nasrallah, a staggered Qassem mainly addressed the group’s popular base and supporters, promising to achieve a victory similar to the presumed “divine victory” of 2006.
“We know that the battle may be long and all options are open to us, but we are prepared for a ground incursion and we will emerge victorious,” Qassem said
He pointed out that the group is still leading and managing the confrontation against Israel, in line with the party’s ranks and structure. “There are deputies for the leaders and we will choose a Secretary-General as soon as possible.”
He also denied Israeli claims that Nasrallah was in a security meeting with 20 people when they were targeted in the group’s bunker headquarters in the southern suburb of Beirut on Friday (September 27). “Sayyed Nasrallah was accompanied by his two companions (escorts), Ibrahim Jezzini and Samir Harb.
Qassem obviously wanted to reassure the group’s supporters by insisting that Hezbollah maintains the capacity of confronting Israel despite the losses it has suffered over the past couple of weeks.
“Despite all the great sacrifices we went through, starting with the pager and radio equipment (explosions) and the martyrdom of leaders and the Secretary-General, which would have shaken armies, organizations, and peoples, we continued and we will always continue (the fight),” he said.
“In spite of the attempts to confuse our arena, we will not budge one iota from our positions, and the Islamic resistance will continue to confront the Israeli enemy, in support of Palestine and in defense of Lebanon,” he added.
He concluded by trying to sound even more reassuring: “Rest assured, victory is ours and we just need some patience.”
