Hezbollah chief Qassem declares 'great victory' over Israel, claims success surpassed 2006 conflict

In his first speech since a ceasefire went into effect in Lebanon, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem on Friday declared that the group scored a “great victory” against Israel even greater than that declared after the two foes last fought in 2006.

“I have decided to declare… officially and clearly that we are facing a great victory that surpasses that of July 2006,” AFP quoted Qassem as saying in a televised address.

“We won because we prevented the enemy from destroying Hezbollah… (and) from annihilating or weakening the resistance,” added Qassem.

This was Qassem’s first speech since a ceasefire was reached earlier this week, bringing an end to over a year of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

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The fighting devastated large parts of southern and eastern Lebanon, as well as the suburbs of Beirut, while Israeli airstrikes significantly weakened Hezbollah’s leadership.

Hezbollah also stepped back from its previous condition that a ceasefire would only be agreed upon once fighting in Gaza had ended.

Qassem vowed to coordinate at a “high level” with the Lebanese army to implement the terms of a ceasefire with Israel that began two days earlier.

“The coordination between the resistance and the Lebanese army will be at a high level to implement the commitments of the agreement,” Qassem was quoted as saying, adding that “no one is betting on problems or disagreements” with the army.

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A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah began at 4am (02:00 GMT) on Wednesday amid concerns about whether it would hold and lead to the permanent end of fighting between Israel’s military and Hezbollah forces.

As part of the ceasefire agreement, Israel will “gradually withdraw” its forces from southern Lebanon over the next 60 days, and the Lebanese army will deploy to the territory.

The truce ended a conflict that began the day after Hamas’s unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, when Hezbollah began a low-intensity exchange of cross-border fire in solidarity with their Palestinian allies.

In late September, Israel intensified its campaign against Hezbollah, launching fierce air strikes and later sending in ground troops.

Lebanon’s health ministry said at least 3,961 people have been killed in the country since October 2023 as a result of the conflict, most of them in recent weeks, while 16,520 were wounded.

On the Israeli side, the hostilities with Hezbollah killed at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians, authorities there say.

With inputs from agencies