Qassem tells Israelis solution is ceasefire, threatens to target all of Israel
Hezbollah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem warned Israelis on Tuesday that the only solution to the current war is a ceasefire, saying the Iran-backed group would not be defeated.
"Since the Israeli enemy targeted all of Lebanon, we have the right from a defensive position to target any place" in Israel, "whether the center, the north or the south", Qassem said in a televised speech, adding "I am telling the Israeli home front: the solution is a ceasefire... the resistance (Hezbollah) will not be defeated because this is its land".
Qassem said that the group is now focused on “hurting the enemy,” exemplified by targeting the Israeli city of Haifa and areas beyond it, including Tel Aviv.
The pre-recorded speech marked his third appearance since Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sept. 27.
“We will defeat our enemies and drive them out of our lands,” Qassem said. He accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of seeking a “new Middle East” aligned with Israeli and American interests.
He urged Hezbollah supporters to remain steadfast amid Israeli attacks. “Our hope for victory is limitless,” he said. “I give you good news that we are the ones who will hold the enemy’s reins and return it to the fold.”
Addressing Israelis, Qassem said that a cease-fire is the only solution to return residents of northern Israel to their homes. “We are not seeking a cease-fire because we are weak,” he said.
If Israel continues its bombardment and ground invasion in Lebanon, he said that Hezbollah’s strikes will expand over a geographically wider area and “more than 2 million will be in danger.”
Israeli officials have said the operation in Lebanon is intended to push back Hezbollah and return displaced Israelis to their homes.
Qassem linked the ongoing conflict in Lebanon to the broader struggle of the Palestinians, and to the ongoing war in Gaza.
“We cannot separate Lebanon from Palestine, or Palestine from the world,” he said.
Source: Agence France Presse
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