Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem on Saturday evening spoke in honor of Al-Quds Day, the last day of Ramadan.
"We need to set a limit to Israel's attacks - a boundary which was crossed in an attack on the Dahieh area of Beirut for the first time since the ceasefire, and also attacks on a number of locations in southern Lebanon," Qassem said. "We will not accept that this behavior of Israel's will continue, and if Israel thinks that it will create a new equation in which it justifies by means of false justifications with a goal of killing, of entering various places, and with the goal of striking in Dahieh, in Beqaa, and in southern Lebanon - then we will oppose this, and the State of Lebanon must stop this."
"We will not accept a situation in which Israel does as it wishes and we stand on the side. There is a limit to everything. This opposition exists and is committed at this point to the agreement - but if Israel does not keep the agreement and the State of Lebanon does not reach the desired result on a diplomatic level - then we will have no choice but to return to the other options. Israel needs to know that by means of pressure, by means of occupying five locations, or by means of its crimes - it will not achieve what it wishes."
He added, "During the past few weeks, a number of messages have reached me from fighters who said that they are willing to carry out an act of a martyr's death, and I told them that they are in the heart of the act of a martyr's death. They were sad when they did not die a martyr's death during the war - because they love the idea that their lives will end on the battlefield."
Earlier in his speech, Qassem spoke about Iran's Al-Quds Day, which began after the Islamic Revolution in 1979 and which now is used to express solidarity with the Arabs in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.
"The Palestinian issue is not a tactical issue and it is also not a strategic issue - it is an ideological issue, and as such it is based on faith. Israel is a cancerous tumor spreading thanks to the Americans," he said.
Under the ceasefire agreement, which took effect on November 26, 2024, Lebanon's official military and security forces will be the only armed groups authorized to carry weapons or operate military forces in southern Lebanon. “Any sale, supply and production of weapons or arms-related materials to Lebanon shall be under the full supervision and control of the Lebanese government,” it underscores.
The agreement also stated that, “All unauthorized facilities involved in the manufacture of weapons and arms-related materials will be dismantled, all military infrastructure and positions will be dismantled, and all unauthorized weapons that do not comply with these obligations will be confiscated.
The agreement states that Israel and Lebanon will recognize the importance of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, even though, "these obligations do not negate Israel’s or Lebanon’s inherent right to self-defense."
Israel has retained five bases on the outskirts of Shlomi, Jebel Blat Karkom, Shaked Ridge beyond Malkia, the Hamamis Ridge above Margaliot, and above the Galilee panhandle, aiming to prevent terrorist infiltrations and ensure Hezbollah does not re-establish itself at the border.
