The chief of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group on Friday (August 15, 2025) vowed not to disarm, saying final week’s resolution by the nationwide authorities to take away the Iran-backed group’s weapons by the tip of the yr serves Israel’s pursuits.
Naim Kassem stated the federal government’s resolution to take away “the defensive weapons of the resistance, its people and Lebanon during an aggression” facilitates the killing of “resistance fighters and their families and evict them from their land and homes.”
He stated the federal government ought to have as a substitute “spread its authority and evicted Israel from Lebanon.” Speaking in a televised speech to mark a Shiite spiritual occasion, he added “the government is serving the Israeli project.” Kassem added if the continuing disaster leads to an inner battle, the federal government is to blame. He famous that Hezbollah and its Shiite ally, the Amal motion, didn’t ask their supporters to protest within the streets to give approach for extra discussions. The Amal motion was one of many foremost armed teams in Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil battle and is now a strong political get together led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
But, he stated if a choice is taken to protest within the streets, protesters “will be all over Lebanon and head to the U.S. embassy.” He didn’t elaborate.
Hezbollah’s weapons have been a significant dividing level in Lebanon with some teams which might be opposed to Hezbollah saying solely the state needs to be allowed to have arms.
The Lebanese authorities voted final week for a U.S.-backed plan to disarm Hezbollah by the tip of the yr and implement a ceasefire with Israel.
The small Mediterranean nation has been beneath worldwide strain to get Hezbollah to lay down its arms for the reason that 14-month battle with Israel that ended with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in November.
However, the Hezbollah chief stated his group will solely focus on a nationwide defence technique over its weapons as soon as Israel withdraws from Lebanon and stops its nearly each day airstrikes which have killed scores of Hezbollah members for the reason that battle’s finish.
“The resistance will not hand over its weapons as the aggression continues and occupation remains,” Kassem stated, including that the group will combat a protracted battle if wanted.
The Israel-Hezbollah battle weakened the Iran-backed group and left a lot of its navy and political management useless. The battle killed greater than 4,000 individuals in Lebanon, displaced over 1 million and precipitated destruction that the World Bank stated will price $11 billion in reconstruction.
After the battle ended, Israeli forces stayed in 5 overlooking places inside Lebanon.
Israel has accused Hezbollah of making an attempt to rebuild its navy capabilities. Israel’s navy has stated the 5 places in Lebanon present vantage factors or are positioned throughout from communities in northern Israel, the place about 60,000 Israelis had been displaced in the course of the battle.
