Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said on Sunday that the ceasefire with Israel is “not the end” of the terrorist group.
Speaking via video link at the funeral of his predecessor, Hassan Nasrallah, in Beirut, Qassem said: “We agreed to the enemy’s request for a ceasefire because the resistance and Lebanon have no interest in continuing the disproportionate fight without any military or political progress.”
The ceasefire reflected the “strength” of the Iranian-backed terrorist army, he added.
As for Israel’s decision to remain in five outposts in Southern Lebanon to ensure Hezbollah’s disarmament, Qassem said, “We are no longer facing a violation of the agreement, but rather an occupation.”
Hezbollah, he added, “is here to stay; we will act whenever we deem it appropriate, and we will not accept that the tyrannical American regime controls Lebanon,” according to a translation by MTV Lebanon.
Of Nasrallah, Qassem said, “Today, we bid farewell to an exceptional historical leader, a national Arab Islamic figure who represents the beacon of the free people in the world.
“We will uphold trust and walk on this path; we will uphold your will,” Qassem promised, adding: “You are still with us, your ... path and struggle live within us,” and “I am loyal to the legacy, Nasrallah.”
Nasrallah’s funeral, which took place nearly five months after he was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Sept. 27, saw tens of thousands gather at a stadium in Beirut’s Hezbollah-controlled southern suburb of Dahiyeh.
As crowds chanted, “Death to Israel, death to America,” Israeli Air Force fighter jets flew low over Beirut, Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed.
“The IAF jets that are now circling in the skies over Beirut over Hassan Nasrallah’s funeral are conveying a clear message: Whoever threatens to destroy Israel and attacks Israel—that will be their end,” Katz said.
“You will specialize in funerals—and we will specialize in victories,” he added.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said, “The images from Nasrallah’s ‘funeral’ now precisely reflect the historic crossroads where Lebanon stands: The continuation of the Iranian occupation in Lebanon, through Hezbollah—or liberation from Iran and Hezbollah and freedom to Lebanon.
“The choice is in the hands of Lebanon and the Lebanese people,” Jerusalem’s top diplomat said.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, visiting Beirut for Nasrallah’s funeral, that his country “paid a heavy price” for supporting the Palestinians and is “tired of others’ wars,” according to his office.
Aoun, whose candidacy is believed to have been backed by the U.S., reportedly told Ghalibaf that “the unity of the Lebanese people is the best way to deal with any loss or aggression” and that he supports “the outcomes of the recent Riyadh summit regarding a two-state solution.”
Earlier this month, Hezbollah’s leadership decided to hold a “grand procession” for its slain chief near the Beirut airport. “We hope that it will be a grand funeral procession befitting this great personality,” Qassem said in remarks translated by Agence France-Presse.
Ahead of the funeral, the Israeli military announced it had struck several Hezbollah sites in Lebanon, targeting rocket launchers and other arms that it said posed an imminent threat to the territory of the Jewish state.
The military stressed that Hezbollah’s continued terrorist operations continue to violate the established ceasefire understandings between Jerusalem and Beirut and endanger the State of Israel and its citizens.
