Escalating Ceasefire Crisis
Hezbollah Leader Defies Global Pressure: "We Will Not Surrender!"
As Qassem labeled Israel "the most despicable creation on the planet," the region braces for what could be a catastrophic breakdown, with no immediate responses from Israeli or U.S. officials amid swirling reports of possible renewed conflict.
In a fiery televised address, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem delivered a stark ultimatum today, vowing unyielding resistance against demands to disarm. Speaking at a memorial for commander Mohammad Hassan Yaghi, also known as Abu Salim, Qassem painted a grim picture of foreign plots, accusing Israel and the United States of orchestrating a sinister scheme to cripple Lebanon's defenses and redraw its borders.
"We will not retreat, we will not surrender, and we will defend ourselves," Qassem thundered, as he dismissed disarmament calls as an "Israeli-American project" designed to "end the resistance, annex part of Lebanon, and turn what remains into a tool managed by the US and Israel."
He warned that even the harshest alliances against Hezbollah, "Ride your strongest horses and ally yourselves with the harshest of God's creations," would not force the group to yield its weapons, intensifying fears of renewed war as a U.S.-backed deadline for disarmament looms perilously close.
The speech comes at a razor-edge moment in the fragile ceasefire forged in late 2024, following the devastating loss of Hezbollah's longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah. Qassem hurled accusations at Israel for flagrantly violating the truce through continued killings, incursions, and occupations of disputed border areas, declaring that Lebanon has already made "free concessions" without any reciprocity. "Do not ask anything of us anymore," he demanded, insisting the Lebanese state should not serve as "a policeman for the Israeli enemy.
"Qassem's unapologetic stance underscores Hezbollah's ironclad refusal to bow, even as international eyes fixate on the approaching January 1, 2026, deadline. He called for national unity, hinting at potential talks on a "national security strategy" only after Israel halts its aggressions and allows southern Lebanon's reconstruction.