by Emmitt Barry, with reporting from Worthy News Jerusalem Bureau Staff
(Worthy News) – Hezbollah’s deputy leader Naim Qassem declared Saturday that the group will not disarm, as supporters marked one year since the killing of longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike.
Speaking by video to thousands gathered in Beirut, Qassem praised Nasrallah’s legacy and vowed that Hezbollah would continue confronting Israel. “We will not leave the field and we will not give up our weapons,” he said. “We still maintain positions in the villages facing the Israeli enemy. This is the real strength of the resistance.”
The commemoration included visits to the Beirut shrine where Nasrallah is buried, as well as sites honoring senior Hezbollah figures Abbas al-Musawi and Safi al-Din. At 6:21 p.m.–the exact moment Nasrallah was assassinated in the Dahiyeh district last year–participants observed a minute of silence.
Qassem used his speech to attack U.S. envoy to Lebanon Thomas Barrett, accusing Washington of pushing for Hezbollah’s disarmament to serve Israel’s interests. “Disarmament means dismantling our strength in response to Israeli demands,” he warned. He also criticized the Lebanese government, alleging it was prioritizing the army against its own citizens rather than “the real enemy.”
The deputy leader expressed thanks to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and the Amal Movement, declaring Hezbollah and Amal “are one on the ground.” He closed by saluting “resistance fighters, prisoners, and families,” vowing to continue “in Nasrallah’s path.”
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun urged unity during the anniversary, calling it a time “to rally around the project of a strong and united state, with one army and institutions that defend sovereignty and dignity.” Meanwhile, Houthi Prime Minister Mohammed Muftah praised Nasrallah’s “unforgettable testament,” and Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met with Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani to discuss regional ties.
Qassem’s defiant message comes amid growing calls within Lebanon and internationally for Hezbollah to disarm, as tensions with Israel remain high.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Thursday that Hamas will be disarmed and the Gaza Strip fully demilitarized — declaring that if the international community fails to carry out that mission, Israel will act alone.
Returning from his Asia trip, President Donald Trump on Thursday night urged Republicans to “play their Trump card” and eliminate the Senate filibuster to end the monthlong government shutdown, escalating pressure on lawmakers to break the political deadlock in Washington.
In a rare bipartisan move, the U.S. Senate voted Thursday to end the emergency powers President Donald Trump has used to impose sweeping global tariffs — a move widely seen as a symbolic rebuke of the president’s trade strategy.
A sweeping new Barna report reveals a historic shift in American Christianity: for the first time in modern history, men are attending church more frequently than women. The change marks a dramatic reversal of decades-long patterns in which women consistently led in spiritual participation and church involvement.
Jerusalem was brought to a halt Thursday as hundreds of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews flooded the city’s western entrance in what organizers called the “Million Man March,” protesting the government’s proposed draft law. The massive rally–one of the largest in recent Israeli history–sparked chaos, violence, and tragedy, leaving a 15-year-old boy dead after falling from a construction site overlooking the demonstration.
A former underground Chinese house church pastor who now leads a U.S.-based advocacy group has urged U.S. President Donald J. Trump to raise the issue of reportedly persecuted Christians during his talks Thursday with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, following a fresh crackdown on independent churches in the Communist-led nation.
The fiercely anti-Islam but pro-Israel Party for Freedom (PVV) led by seasoned politician Geert Wilders was only slightly behind the left-leaning centrist Democrats 66 (D66) party with nearly all votes counted Thursday in the Dutch general election.