Tens of thousands of supporters gathered in Beirut on Saturday to honor the memory of the charismatic leader, who was killed in an Israeli air strike against the Lebanese capital on September 27, 2024.
Without Nasarallah and with a significantly weakened military capability in the wake of the many Israeli attacks against the movement, Hezbollah's grip on politics in Lebanon has weakened, and Beirut has ordered the disarmament of the group.
We never abandon our weapons, nor will we refrain from using them, said Naim Qassem in a televised speech to the large crowd of supporters gathered on the outskirts of Beirut.
We are ready for martyrdom.
Israel has demanded that Hezbollah be disarmed and the Lebanese government under President Joseph Aoun has set its sights on making that happen. However, how this is to be done in practice is unclear - among analysts, there is almost unanimous agreement that the Lebanese military lacks the capability to carry out the disarmament on its own.
The demand from Tel Aviv should be seen against the background that Israel almost daily violates the ceasefire agreement it entered into with the Shia Muslim militia last November.
Hezbollah has been completely terrorist-listed by several countries, while others - including the EU - have only terrorist-listed its armed branch.
