By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem vowed the Resistance would never surrender and warned Israel against continued aggression.

Key Developments

• Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem vowed the Resistance would never surrender.
• Qassem warned the battlefield would become “hell” for Israel.
• Hezbollah rejected direct negotiations with Israel.

Hezbollah Rejects Surrender

Sheikh Naim Qassem pledged on Tuesday that the Lebanese Resistance would never surrender to Israeli or American pressure, warning that Hezbollah would continue fighting regardless of the cost.

In a lengthy letter addressed to Hezbollah fighters and commanders, Qassem described the current war as a joint Israeli-American campaign aimed at subjugating Lebanon and integrating it into what he referred to as ‘Greater Israel’.

“We will not submit, and we will not surrender,” Qassem wrote, adding:

“We will continue to defend Lebanon and its people no matter how long it takes and no matter how great the sacrifices.”

“We will not leave the battlefield. We will turn it into hell on Israel,” Qassem also stated.

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Praise for Resistance Fighters

The Hezbollah chief devoted large sections of the message to praising the movement’s fighters and military capabilities.

Addressing resistance fighters directly, Qassem said Hezbollah’s drones, missiles, and battlefield determination had shaken Israel psychologically and militarily.

“Your first-person view drones embrace the ground, tightening the noose around the Israeli occupier,” he wrote.

“Your UAVs instill fear in the tyrants and aggressors of this world. Your missiles shake their stability, leaving them anxious and psychologically distressed.”

Qassem argued that Hezbollah’s resilience had surprised its enemies despite repeated claims that the movement had been weakened.

“They claimed you were finished and would be defeated,” he said, stating, “Yet your struggle has forged a model of resilience that has astonished the world.”

Rejecting Direct Negotiations

On the political level, Qassem explicitly rejected direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel.

Instead, he called for indirect negotiations, arguing that direct talks only benefit Israel politically while weakening Lebanon’s position.

“We call for the option of indirect negotiations, where the cards of power are in the Lebanese negotiator’s hand,” Qassem stated.

He added that direct negotiations would amount to “pure profits for Israel and gratuitous concessions from the Lebanese authority.”

Qassem also insisted that Hezbollah’s weapons and the issue of resistance are internal Lebanese matters that cannot be negotiated with external actors.

“No external party has any authority over Lebanon’s weapons, Resistance, or internal affairs,” he wrote.

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Hezbollah Sets Lebanese Conditions

The Hezbollah secretary-general outlined five objectives he said Lebanon must achieve before discussing any future internal political framework.

According to Qassem, those goals include ending Israeli attacks by land, sea, and air; securing the withdrawal of Israeli forces from occupied Lebanese territory; obtaining the release of detainees; allowing displaced residents to return home; and reconstruction.

He said that once those objectives are achieved, Lebanon could organize its internal security framework through a national defense strategy.

Qassem referenced remarks by Joseph Aoun regarding the need for a comprehensive national security strategy capable of ending Israeli occupation and aggression.

Iran-US Talks and Regional Pressure

Qassem also referred to the ongoing indirect negotiations between Iran and the United States, describing a possible agreement that halts attacks on Lebanon as “almost the strongest paper” capable of stopping Israeli aggression.

He thanked Iran for supporting Lebanon and said Hezbollah was prepared to cooperate with Lebanese authorities in negotiations aimed at securing Lebanon’s sovereignty.

At the same time, Qassem stressed that Hezbollah would remain on the battlefield until Israeli aggression ends.

“All our resistance is aimed at stopping the aggression and frustrating its goals,” he wrote.

“We will not leave the field of confrontation until God grants us success,” he concluded.

(PC, Al Mayadeen)