Islam Times - What Are Messages of Hezbollah Deputy Leader’s Speech?

Islam Times - After assassination of Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in southern Beirut bombing, the Israeli regime, overjoyed by the attack and without developing a correct knowledge of Hezbollah's command and organization structure, imagined that the resistance movement has been weakened and can use the opportunity to push the resistance forces from its northern borders, not knowing that the political and military structure of Hezbollah is not individual-reliant and will not collapse in the absence of its leader.

In this connection, to show that Hezbollah is at the height of its power, the current leaders of Hezbollah without any weakness and less than three days of assassination of their leader sent its first message to the people of Lebanon and to the Israeli regime.

In his first speech after Nasrallah's martyrdom, Deputy Secretary General of Hezbollah Sheikh Naim Qassem, on Monday, which was broadcast live on Hezbollah's network Al-Manar, stressed: "We have lost a noble brother, father and leader, Martyr Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, a great man. He remained in the field of Jihad, promotion [of resistance], and mobilization [of forces] from his childhood until his martyrdom."

"Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah was beloved by the people, by the freedom seekers of the world, and by the Palestinian nation. He is a role model for all those who hope to liberate Palestine from Zionist oppression and break the power of American-Zionist arrogance," Sheikh Qassam said.

Sheikh Naim Qassem further said: "Martyr Nasrullah was absorbed in Islam and was a follower of the line of Imams in Islam and followed the path of Ayatollah Khamenei. Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah sacrificed everything for the cause of God and did not leave the battlefield for a moment. The Sayyed loved the freedom of Palestine."

At a time all the Lebanese resistance forces are in shock of losing their leader, the message of Qassem in the shortest possible time after the assassination of Nasrallah shows that this movement has planned for years on the organizational staff and the training of specialists in all fields so as to handle problems in times of crisis.

Hezbollah's message to the people of Iran

The speech of Qassem bore messages for the people of Lebanon to assure them not to be concerned about the current situation.

The top-priority issue for clarification was the leadership and succession of Nasrallah. Qassem in this regard said: "We will choose the new Secretary-General of Hezbollah as soon as possible based on the predetermined framework, and everyone knows that the options in this field are clear."

Given the remarks of Qassem and the 40 years of experience of Hezbollah, it can be said that this movement is an organization that rests on a large popular base, a wide organizational hierarchy, and the presence of elites at all levels of the command and ranks, and this orderly structure is based on the ideology of this movement. Hence, Hezbollah can fill any void that arises with the least challenge, especially since Hezbollah as an organization has been fighting the occupation regime for more than 40 years and it is fully aware of dangers of this conflict. Although the loss of a prominent figure like Nasrallah may represent a great psychological loss for Hezbollah's base and body, at the operational level, there will not be a gap in its ranks, and the recent extensive operations against the occupied territories also showed that the path of fighting will continue with more intensity.

Continuing his speech, Qassem disclosed the lies of the Israeli leaders who said that they killed over 20 commanders of Hezbollah. He said that contrary to the Israeli allegations, the meeting in which Nasrallah was present was not attended by 20 commanders.

Qassem's remarks come while the Israeli leaders claimed that they assassinated a large number of Hezbollah commanders in the recent attack in order to intensify the psychological warfare against the resistance forces and the people of Lebanon with these claims. But this movement, unlike Tel Aviv, never censored the martyrdom of its commanders and has been honest with the people. In the recent attack, Hezbollah published the names of the martyrs of Hezbollah in the media after they were pulled out from under the rubble, in order to remove the doubt created by the lies of the Israelis.

Qassem added that the place of the martyrs will not remain vacant. He held that "we have Martyr Nasrallah's options for martyred commanders and we will act based on this issue in naming the commanders and cadres of Hezbollah. In the organizational structure of Hezbollah, there are deputy commanders and alternative options, and if the commander is unable to continue his mission under any circumstances, these people will replace him... The leaders of Hezbollah and its commanders will continue to follow the path that martyr Nasrallah followed."

Resistance is a plan whose most important foundation is continuity and therefore, despite the lack of leaders, resistance will continue on its path regardless of the organizational position of individuals. This project may stumble a little, but it will quickly recover from stagnation and crisis, and Hezbollah is a good example of this resilience.

After the assassination of Secretary-General of Hezbollah Sayyed Abbas al-Musawi in 1992, the Israelis thought that the movement was destroyed and could not reorganize, but with the election of Nasrallah, this regime met its most dangerous nightmare in the last 32 years. Therefore, this time too, the replacement of Nasrallah will put Tel Aviv leaders in a tight spot.

In order to inject morale into the people of Lebanon, who are somewhat worried about the security situation due to the loss of Nasrallah, Qassem noted: "We are present in the battlefield and we will not walk back from Martyr Nasrallah's position... After the martyrdom of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's operations have continued with the same strength and even stronger, and these assassinations have not had any effect on the strength of the resistance."

Confidence in the allies and the threats against Israel

Qassem's speech immediately after the assassination of commanders and the head carried an important message for the radical Israeli leaders to not think that the body of Hezbollah has collapsed and that they can realize their aims in Lebanon.

Commenting on this issue, Hezbollah deputy secretary-general maintained: "If the Zionist regime dares to enter Lebanon by land, it should know that Hezbollah forces are fully prepared to face them on the ground. This battle is long and all options are on the table and we will take the appropriate decision if they invade Lebanon... Indeed, we are sure that the Zionist regime will not achieve any of its goals and we will emerge victorious from this battle."

This is while the occupation army has started its incursion into Lebanon by land since Monday in order to push back the Hezbollah forces from the borders of the occupied lands, guarantee the security of the settlers, and return the displaced people to their homes. But according to analysts and former Israeli officials, land invasion of Lebanon is a trap that this regime will fall into, and this will benefit the Axis of Resistance which can inflict heavy blows on the enemy.

In a part of his speech, Qassem stressed the stability and resistance of the Lebanese nation, adding: "This great nation, which has always undertaken difficult missions, fulfilled its responsibilities this time, too, and we will end up winning the war over the Zionist regime like in 2006."

Referring to Hezbollah's attacks 150 kilometers deep into the occupied territories and also the missile attack on Haifa, Qassem said that 1 million people sought shelters after the attacks.

Qassem's words contained the message that after the assassination of Nasrallah, the Lebanese movement will not stop the battle against the occupation and that this strong anti-Israeli stronghold, which was established four decades ago, is still at the peak of its power and will strengthen the deterrence it set up against Tel Aviv.

The expansion of Hezbollah's operations to the occupied territories is a warning to the leaders of Tel Aviv that as long as the genocide in Gaza continues, they will not stop their attacks, and if Netanyahu is really looking for the security of the settlers and the return of the refugees, he should end the Gaza war instead of adventures in Lebanon.

Also, he gave this message to the resistance groups not to worry about the situation of Hezbollah and the path of Sayyed Nasrallah will be continued with strength by his successors and this movement will continue to be a supporter of the Gaza against the Israelis from a position of honor and power.

In recent days, after martyrdom of Sayyed Nasrallah, millions from the resistance countries declared their readiness for recruitment to defend Lebanon, something showing that the "unity of fronts" strategy has not only weakened, but also will be stronger and opening several fronts of resistance against Israel is a nightmare that will keep haunting Netanyahu.