Sheikh Qassem Calls on Lebanese Authorities to Cancel Direct Talks with Enemy: Hezbollah Fighters Will Capture Israeli Soldiers

Hezbollah Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem maintained on Monday that Lebanon is facing an aggression which does not observe any humanitarian or moral consideration, stressing that it is a clear occupation.

In a televised speech, Sheikh Qassem said, “We remained steadfast, the fighters stood firm, and our people and Lebanon endured; and with all capabilities we were able to reach a point where the state signed an indirect agreement with the enemy in November 2024.”

We have been facing a brutal Israeli-American aggression since the beginning of the Battle of Formidable in Might, His Eminence added.

The agreement stipulated a complete cessation of aggression, the release of prisoners, and the start of reconstruction, Sheikh Qassem noted.

“We endured for 15 months despite Israel not implementing any clause of the agreement. We exercised patience, and diplomacy did not advance a single step despite hundreds of martyrs and wounded, while the aggression against Lebanon continued at the same pace with full American support.”

“We responded at the appropriate time and confirmed that this timing was suitable to move toward implementing the agreement, only to discover that a very large-scale aggressive plan had been prepared for Lebanon. We deprived the enemy of the element of surprise and prevented very significant losses that could have occurred,” Sheikh Qassem said.

Sheikh Qassem warned that the enemy’s objectives are clear: to destroy the strength that Lebanon possesses as a prelude to “Greater Israel,” adding: “For the record, all of Lebanon is targeted. When Israel occupies southern Lebanon, it means occupying Lebanon, and when it spreads its killing across Lebanese territory, it means all of Lebanon is targeted.”

“In the case of aggression, the Lebanese state is supposed to confront it and task its army and forces with defending against it. The state’s failure to confront may be justified by its weakness and inability, but it cannot be justified for the state to become a tool for Israel by exerting pressure and making governmental decisions that weaken the internal situation in the face of aggression,” Hezbollah Chief added.

“Israel, along with the United States, has clearly stated that they want to strengthen the army in order to disarm Hezbollah and fight it. They want the state to dismantle the party’s various institutions and eliminate the existence of the resistance, its people, and all who support it. They want to support the army to the extent that it becomes capable of fighting its own people, which the army cannot and will not do.”

“Because we are existentially targeted, because our homeland is targeted by the project of ‘Greater Israel’, and because our country’s independence is threatened—and no one has the right to impose decisions upon us—we have decided to confront and resist in defense of Lebanon and its people, and we are waging the Battle of the Eaten Straw in this sense.

We fight under this title and slogan, and we are rightful, having been aggressed against along with our homeland by the Israeli-American enemy, HIs Eminence said.

This is not a “security of the north” battle, but rather an aggression aimed at devouring Lebanon and eliminating its strength, its people, and its resistance, Sheikh Qassem maintained.

Hezbollah Secretary General addressed the Lebanese President Joseph Aoun: “Your Excellency the President, they are pressuring you to confront your own people, while we are together as sons of one country, building and establishing it together.”

Addressing Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Sheikh Qassem asked: “What have those who pressure Lebanon offered since the formation of your government?”

“All their demands aim to ignite internal strife and provide justifications for the enemy,” Sheikh Qassem affirmed.

“Let us confront the aggression together, and afterward we can agree on the future and everything else. Our decision in the resistance is that we will neither calm down nor surrender—the battlefield will speak.”

Negotiations

Sheikh Qassem underlined Hezbollah rejection of negotiations with the usurping entity, stressing that these negotiations are futile and require a Lebanese consensus to shift the course from non-negotiation to direct negotiation.

“This is part of a series of free concessions made by the authority, and practical evidence has shown that they are losing concessions that humiliate us and cause losses for both the Lebanese government and people. You say you want a ceasefire, but what do they say, and what leverage do you have in your hands?”

Sheikh Qassem said that this negotiation is submission and surrender, calling for a heroic stance to cancel this negotiation, and the countries will then come running after you.

“You will establish the use of strength factors in confronting the “Israeli” enemy and compel it to implement the agreements,” His Eminence added.

“Let the November agreement be implemented, and enough of the authority disavowing and antagonizing the resistance, at a time when it should be supporting it and benefiting from its capabilities. How strange you are! By Allah, you neither fight nor allow anyone to fight; you neither confront nor allow anyone to confront. Go and look at the Israeli enemy—everyone fights.”

The enemy seeks to maintain their occupation and expand their reserves, benefiting from every soldier they have, His Eminence noted.

“The authority is responsible for sovereignty, liberation, and the protection of citizens. Tell us what you have done and what you have achieved? On the contrary, you are wasting. If you are unable, then either remain silent or let us cooperate.”

“The only path that achieves sovereignty is the implementation of the agreement: a complete cessation of aggression, immediate withdrawal from all territories, release of prisoners, and the return of people to their villages and cities down to the last house along the border strip and Lebanon’s borders,” His Eminence said, “Reconstruction must be carried out through an official decision and international support, with responsibility shared by all supporters.”

These five points must be implemented first, and then we Lebanese know how to make our decisions, His Eminence stressed.

“Some ask: if the aggression continues, how long do we remain? We face two choices: surrender—which will not happen—or confrontation.”

“Let the Lebanese officials think about how to confront the aggression by all means. If anyone is thinking of surrender, let them go and surrender alone; we will not surrender and will remain in the field until the last breath. We will confront, we seek justice, and we present a model to the world that Lebanon—through its army, people, and resistance—is resilient against the enemy.”

“As long as the authority facilitates the aggression, it will continue; let us join hands to think about how to exit this crisis,” Sheikh Qassem warned, “Do not distort the facts; we are fighting a clear enemy. This is Lebanon’s war against the Israeli–American enemy, not the wars of others. Our land is being occupied and our youth are being killed.”