فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
Beirut, July 6, 2025 – Sheikh Naim Qassem, Deputy Secretary-General of Hezbollah, affirmed today, Sunday, that despite his party’s weakened position following the recent war with Israel, it will neither surrender nor disarm, amid intense international pressure to disarm it.
Sheikh Qassem made these remarks during a televised speech before thousands of party supporters in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Hezbollah’s stronghold, on the occasion of commemorating Ashura. In a tone of defiance, Qassem said: “Threats will not make us kneel… We are not told today to soften our positions… nor to hand over our weapons.”
Qassem’s speech comes on the eve of the arrival of the U.S. envoy, Tom Barrack, to Beirut tomorrow, Monday, where Lebanese authorities are scheduled to deliver their response to the American demand to disarm the Shiite party by the end of this year, according to an official source who requested anonymity.
Sheikh Naim Qassem emphasized that Israel must first implement the ceasefire agreement with Lebanon by “withdrawing from the occupied territories, stopping its aggression, and releasing Lebanese prisoners.” He also stressed the necessity of starting to rebuild the areas destroyed by the war that ended last November.
He added that once these conditions are met, “we will be ready for the second phase, which is discussing Lebanon’s national security and defense strategy,” a term that includes the issue of Hezbollah’s disarmament.
It is noteworthy that Sheikh Naim Qassem assumed leadership of Hezbollah following the death of the former Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the southern suburbs of Beirut last September during the war between the party and Israel.
Although the ceasefire came into effect on November 27 after more than a year of hostilities, including two months of open war, the Israeli army continues to carry out regular raids in Lebanon, claiming to target the Iranian-backed group. Israel also maintains five strategic sites in southern Lebanon, despite the expectation that it would fully withdraw its forces from Lebanese territory.
Source: Fes News
