Hezbollah continues to threaten Israel and says it won’t disarm. This is potentially leading to a new crisis. At the moment, Israel has a ceasefire in Gaza and with Lebanon. However, Israel is also carrying out precision strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon. The terror organization has said the strikes are a violation of the ceasefire.
It warned Israel that there is a limit to how much the strikes will continue without a response. This has a chance to plunge Israel and Lebanon into crisis. The US wants to avoid this. However, so far, it is not clear how Hezbollah will be disarmed.
Iran’s state media IRNA noted on November 12 that “the secretary-general of Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement, Sheikh Naim Qassem, has emphasized the movement’s readiness for any confrontation, noting that they will remain standing and not back down if tested again.”
Qassam gave a speech on Tuesday. “The ceasefire agreement was reached on November 27, 2024. It included the enemy’s withdrawal from south of the Litani River and the deployment of the Lebanese Army. For us, the price was acceptable, as the army consists of our people and the sons of our nation,” he said.
“A year passed, and the enemy continued its violations and targeting without anyone responding to say that Lebanon is not adhering to the agreement because the enemy wants to interfere in Lebanon’s future,” he added.
Hezbollah vows to keep arms; US pushes for disarmament
The Hezbollah leader is being clear. “We in Hezbollah say that the ceasefire agreement concerns only south of the Litani, and ‘Israel’ must leave Lebanon and release the prisoners. There is no danger to the northern settlements…There is no replacement for the agreement, nor is there an acquittal of the occupation’s liability with a new agreement. The agreement must be implemented first.”
He said that Israel’s aggression cannot “persist,” and there will be a limit to it. “We will not abandon our weapons, which enable us to defend our land and our people,” Qassem noted. “We will not kneel, and we will remain standing. You have tested us before, and if you want to try again, we will not withdraw from the field.”
The speech was also reported in pro-Hezbollah Al-Akhbar media in Lebanon. It is clear that Hezbollah is sending a message about what might come next. Another report said that Israel was raising its alert level regarding the North and Lebanon. Lebanese media thus believes there is messaging on both sides about careening toward war.
Meanwhile, France24 noted, “Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun told US officials on Sunday his country was tackling money laundering and the financing of terrorism, days after Washington imposed sanctions on three Hezbollah members.”
The report states that “the US delegation’s visit to Beirut, headed by senior director for counterterrorism Sebastian Gorka, came as Washington works to cut off Iran-backed Hezbollah’s funding and Lebanon’s government tries to disarm it.”
Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John Hurley said that “Lebanon has an opportunity to be free, prosperous, and secure – but that can only happen if Hezbollah is fully disarmed and cut off from Iran’s funding and control.”