Naim Qassem: Diplomatic Path Has Failed and We Adhere to Weapons

SadaNews - The Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, stated in a televised speech on Wednesday evening, his first appearance since the outbreak of the war, that Israel wants to show it can impose political decisions on Lebanon, emphasizing that while he agrees with the diplomatic path, "it has achieved nothing over the past 15 months." He mentioned, "We will do everything we can to stop the American-Israeli aggression against Lebanon," stressing that "as long as the Israeli occupation continues, resistance is a legitimate right." Israeli Escalation Naim Qassem said: "We committed to the ceasefire agreement, and Israel did not adhere to any of its terms, and we did not respond to Israel's repeated attacks to avoid being accused of obstructing diplomacy." However, he indicated that "our patience has limits, and the Israeli enemy's escalation has become significant." He continued: "We have repeatedly said that Israel wants to expand, and Netanyahu said he wants Greater Israel," stressing that "Israel is an existential threat to us, our people, our homeland, and to the entire region." The Lebanese Government "Aligns with Israeli Demands" Naim Qassem considered that "the Lebanese government aligns with Israeli demands," pointing out that "the problem is not with Hezbollah's weapons, but with the occupation and the constant violation of sovereignty." He added that "the decisions made on August 5 and 7 weakened the government and gave legitimacy to the aggression." He mentioned that "our duty is to stop this dangerous path of continuous American-Israeli aggression," adding that "Israel has killed 500 citizens and committed more than 10,000 violations since the ceasefire agreement was signed." Imposing Decisions on Lebanon The Hezbollah Secretary-General noted that "Israel wants to show that it is capable of imposing political decisions on Lebanon," adding that "the launching of rockets at Israel was a response to 15 months of violations." He stated that "the first rocket strike was intended as a step to shatter the illusion that the enemy would remain silent if left unchallenged." He mentioned that "Israel has displaced more than 85 villages and towns, destroyed properties, and centers for the Hasan loan." This comes as Hezbollah reported on Wednesday that its fighters are engaged in "direct" clashes with an Israeli force that infiltrated the town of Khyam, located about six kilometers from the border, in the first confrontation reported since the war began on Monday. The party stated in a statement that "after monitoring movements of an enemy Israeli army unit trying to advance inside Khyam, the fighters of the Islamic resistance detonated an explosive device and engaged directly with the force." Hezbollah adopted, on Wednesday, a series of statements regarding 16 attacks against Israeli forces and their positions. Hezbollah announced targeting an Israeli military base near Tel Aviv in central Israel and another in Haifa to the north, while the Israeli army reported detecting two rocket launches from Iran and Hezbollah simultaneously towards Israeli territory. Hezbollah stated in two separate statements that it targeted several drone strikes at the "Tel Hashomer base," which is the eastern headquarters of the IDF, and the "Haifa naval base," as a "response to the criminal Israeli aggression that has affected dozens of Lebanese cities and towns, including the southern suburbs of Beirut."