Qassem says Hezbollah capabilities fine, throws weight behind Berri's ceasefire efforts
Hezbollah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem on Tuesday said the group's military capabilities remained "fine" despite weeks of heavy Israeli airstrikes.
"You see that our daily accomplishments are great. Hundreds of rockets and dozens of aircraft (drones), a great number of (Israeli) settlements and cities have come under rocket fire... I would like to reassure you that our capabilities are fine," Qassem said in a televised address.
Qassem said that even more Israelis will be displaced as Hezbollah extends its rocket fire deeper into Israel, in a defiant statement marking the anniversary of fighting that escalated into war last month.
He stressed that Hezbollah's capabilities are still intact and that the group has replaced senior commanders killed in Israeli airstrikes. "We have no vacant posts," he said, adding that Hezbollah will name a new leader to succeed Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in an underground base in south Beirut last month, "but the circumstances are difficult because of the war."
"The party's leadership and the resistance (Hezbollah) are meticulously organized... We have overcome painful blows," Qassem said.
Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed Nasrallah and a host of other Hezbollah commanders since September 23.
"I cannot even describe our situation without our late secretary-general, but we are drawing inspiration from his robustness," Qassem added.
Addressing the Israeli army chief, Hezbollah's acting leader said: "You will fail in the war."
"The more the war protracts, Israel's dilemma will become bigger," he said.
"We are firm and, God willing, we will win ... We will not beg for a solution and we will not scream first," Qassem added.
"God willing we will defeat Israel and it will not achieve its objectives," Qassem went on to say, noting that the Israelis "were stunned after their army failed to advance on the ground in south Lebanon."
"Any meters that they advance into are of no value and we are seeking engagement with them," he said, adding that "their losses might be the gateway for ending the war."
Qassem also said that Hezbollah supported efforts for a ceasefire with Israel.
"We support the political efforts that (Parliament Speaker) Nabih Berri is undertaking towards a ceasefire," he said in his speech, noting that Hezbollah considers Berri as the "big brother."
"We have full confidence in Speaker Nabih Berri," he added, saying that "before reaching a ceasefire, any other discussion has no place."
Al-Arabiya television meanwhile quoted Lebanese politicians as saying that "Qassem's speech is tantamount to handing over the reins to Nabih Berri."
Source: Agence France Presse, Associated Press, Naharnet
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