The leader of Lebanese Hezbollah, Naïm Qassem, affirmed Friday that his formation had achieved “a great victory”, in his first speech since the ceasefire with Israel which inflicted heavy losses on his movement. “I announce that we are facing a great victory,” said Naïm Qassem in this pre-recorded speech, stressing that “the enemy was unable to achieve its objectives.”
Hezbollah claims symbolic victory
“We won because we prevented the enemy from destroying Hezbollah, and from annihilating the Resistance or weakening it,” he added.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect on Wednesday in Lebanon, after more than a year of cross-border hostilities and two months of open war between the Israeli army and the Lebanese armed movement supported by Iran .
The war left nearly 4,000 dead on the Lebanese side, displaced nearly 900,000 people according to the UN and inflicted heavy losses on Hezbollah. Naïm Qassem, who succeeded Hassan Nasrallah, killed on September 27 in an Israeli strike, pledged to cooperate with the Lebanese army, responsible for implementing the agreement.
Towards strengthened cooperation between Hezbollah and the Lebanese army
Sponsored by the United States and France, the ceasefire agreement provides for the withdrawal within 60 days of the Israeli army from Lebanon.
Hezbollah must retreat to the north of the Litani River, about 30 km from the border, and dismantle its military infrastructure in the south, where only the Lebanese army and peacekeepers will be deployed.
“The coordination between the resistance and the Lebanese army will be at a high level to implement the terms of the agreement,” said Naïm Qassem. “Let no one bet on problems or conflict” with the army, he added. He also said he was ready to cooperate with the army to “strengthen Lebanon’s defensive capabilities”. “The resistance will be ready to prevent the enemy from taking advantage of Lebanon's weakness with our partners and first and foremost the army,” he said.
The leader of Hezbollah also assured that “our support for Palestine will not stop and will continue by different means”, without specifying. The Lebanese movement had opened hostilities against Israel to support Palestinian Hamas, its ally, and previously affirmed that it would only stop its attacks against Israel with the end of the war in Gaza.
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