Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem vowed Saturday that the terror group will not lay down its weapons and will continue confronting Israel, as supporters marked one year since the killing of longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Speaking by video rather than in person at a central Beirut rally, Qassem opened his remarks by praising Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike last year. “Our enemies will not be at peace as long as you are among us, and they will not win as long as your children and loved ones remain loyal to the cause,” he said.
An event marking one year since the killing of Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut’s Dahieh district
“We have continued even in your absence, and we will keep carrying the trust. We will not leave the field and we will not give up our weapons,” Qassem said amid growing calls in Lebanon and the United States for Hezbollah to disarm. He also warned: “We still maintain positions in the villages facing the Israeli enemy. This is the real strength of the resistance. We are ready to defend against any Israeli aggression.”
Commemorations took place at multiple sites, including the Beirut shrine where Nasrallah is buried, the gravesite of senior Hezbollah figure Safi al-Din, and the shrine of former leader Abbas al-Musawi, killed by Israel in 1992. At exactly 6:21 p.m.—the moment of last year’s assassination in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district—participants observed a minute of silence.
In his speech, Qassem attacked U.S. envoy to Lebanon Thomas Barrett, accusing Washington of seeking to dismantle Hezbollah’s arsenal to serve Israel’s interests. “Disarmament means dismantling our strength in response to Israeli demands. We will confront any project that serves Israel, even if disguised as a national project,” he said.
He also criticized Lebanon’s government, accusing it of misplacing priorities. “They want the army to fight its own people instead of the real enemy,” Qassem said, while calling on the state to allocate funds for reconstruction.
Qassem expressed gratitude to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and the Amal Movement, insisting that Hezbollah and Amal “are one on the ground.” He closed his remarks during the moment of silence, saluting “resistance fighters, prisoners, and families,” and declaring: “The land watered with martyrs’ blood will expel the Zionists and belong only to its people. We continue in Nasrallah’s path.”
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun urged unity, saying the anniversary “must be a moment to rally around the project of a strong and united state, with one army and institutions that defend sovereignty and dignity.”
Houthi Prime Minister Mohammed Muftah also praised Nasrallah’s legacy, calling his final battle “an unforgettable testament to loyalty and unprecedented values.” Meanwhile, amid tensions with Iran, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, stressing that bilateral relations must be based on “mutual respect for sovereignty and non-interference in domestic affairs.”