Hezbollah claims it will face Israeli-American aggression and will not surrender

(Patria) - Hezbollah will face "Israeli-American aggression" and will not surrender despite an "imbalance in capabilities," the leader of the Iranian-backed Lebanese group, Naim Qassem, said on Wednesday evening in a televised speech, AFP reported.

"We are facing aggression... our choice is to face it until the final sacrifice and we will not surrender," said the Hezbollah leader in his first speech since his party launched rockets towards Israel on Monday, and Israel began a bombing campaign in Lebanon.

Qassem rejected the idea that Hezbollah started the current round of fighting, saying: "What Israel did after the rocket salvo was not a response. It was aggression that was prepared in advance."

"Hezbollah and its Islamic resistance are responding to Israeli-American aggression and this is a legitimate right... For us, this is an existential defense."

The war in the Middle East spread to Lebanon on Monday, and Israel later announced that its troops had entered towns and villages in southern Lebanon.

Lebanese authorities announced on Wednesday that at least 72 people were killed in Israeli attacks, and more than 83,000 displaced.

The Lebanese government announced on Monday a "temporary ban" on Hezbollah's military activities and asked the group to surrender its weapons, months after it pledged gradual disarmament, which the group has repeatedly rejected.

In his speech on Wednesday, Qassem criticized the new decision of the Lebanese government, saying: "Instead of the Lebanese government condemning the Israeli-American aggression and looking for ways to confront it, it turned against the resistance to complete its mistake and align with Israeli demands."

"The issue of resistance and the weapons of resistance is not a subject of dispute for anyone with anyone. It is a legitimate right. We are fighting in Lebanon in defense of our people, the future of our children, and our country," he added.