Hezbollah’s New Chief: ‘We Will Not Retreat’

The new Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said in his first speech, after becoming secretary-general he “will continue on the path of the martyr Hassan Nasrallah, and implement the war plan he developed with the leadership of the resistance, and deal according to the developments of each stage.”

In a videotaped speech, Wednesday, Qassem stressed “supporting Gaza is a duty to confront the danger of the occupation on the entire region from the gate of Gaza, and its people as they have the right to be supported by everyone. 

The question should not be directed to the party about the reasons for its support for Gaza, but to others about the reasons for their lack of support of the people of Gaza,” he added.

Hezbollah “does not fight on behalf of anyone, but to protect Lebanon, liberate our land, and support Gaza,” stressing that “Iran supports our project and does not want anything from us, and our convictions are shared,” he stressed.

“For 11 months, we said we do not want war, but we are ready if it is imposed on us, and we in Lebanon do not fight on behalf of Iran or to implement its project, but to protect and liberate our land,” Qassem continued. 

Qassem described the head of the Hamas political bureau  martyr Yahya Sinwar as “an icon of heroism for Palestine and the free people of the world, and he resisted until his last breath.”

“The Lebanese resistance was created to liberate the land and confront the occupation and its expansionist intentions,” noting “the resistance expelled the occupation from Lebanon, not international resolutions,” he added.

Qassem stated “the field proves and confirms the party’s recovery from the attacks it was subjected to because it is a large and cohesive institution with great capabilities and a true jihadist history, and it was growing stronger year after year and gaining more experience.”

Qassem stressed “the enemy must know that its bombing of our villages and cities will not make us retreat, and the resistance is strong and was able to deliver a drone to Netanyahu’s room.”

Qassem criticized western collusion, saying: “This war is not only [Israeli], but an [Israeli]-American-European global war in which all the capabilities to eliminate the resistance and the peoples of the region are used in all brutality, genocide and criminality.”

Since September 23, the occupation forces have expanded the scope of the genocide they have been committing in Gaza since October 7, 2023, to include most areas of Lebanon, including the capital Beirut, through unprecedentedly violent and intense airstrikes, and have also begun a ground incursion into the south, disregarding international warnings and UN resolutions.

The Israeli occupation army, supported by the United States and Europe, continues its aggression on the Gaza Strip for the second year in a row, as its aircraft bomb the vicinity of hospitals, buildings, towers and homes of Palestinian civilians, destroying them over the heads of their residents, and preventing the entry of water, food, medicine and fuel.

The aggression has left about 145,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, amid massive destruction and famine that has killed dozens of children and elderly people, in one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world.

CrossFireArabia

CrossFireArabia

Dr. Marwan Asmar holds a PhD from Leeds University and is a freelance writer specializing on the Middle East. He has worked as a journalist since the early 1990s in Jordan and the Gulf countries, and been widely published, including at Albawaba, Gulf News, Al Ghad, World Press Review and others.

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Albanese Calls For World Force to Protect Civilians in Gaza, West Bank

UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese called Sunday for an “international protection presence” in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, saying such a deployment was “absolutely urgent.”

“Third states have an obligation, per the ICJ, to act to end Israel’s unlawful occupation,” Albanese wrote on the US social media platform X, referring to a July 2024 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice that deemed Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory unlawful and said states must not assist in maintaining it.

Albanese also questioned whether UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ diplomatic efforts and the General Assembly’s “Uniting for Peace” mechanism could overcome the Security Council’s deadlock on the conflict.

The mechanism allows the General Assembly to consider international peace and security issues when the Security Council cannot act because of a lack of unanimity among its permanent members. The council has repeatedly been unable to take action on Gaza and the West Bank amid vetoes by the US. Anadolu

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40 Million Tons of Rubble: Gaza Ministry Faces Challenges in Removing it

Gaza’s Ministry of Public Works and Housing confirmed that Israel’s ongoing targeting of tents and shelters of displaced people in the enclave is a systematic policy of destroying the basic necessities of life. It noted the amount of rubble that has piled up in the various regions of the Strip has exceeded 40 million tons.

Ministry spokesman Najla Hammad told the Sanad News Agency, Monday, the ministry is facing unprecedented challenges in removing the rubble because of the severe shortage of heavy machinery due to the Israeli-imposed blockade and the closure of crossings.

Hammad pointed out that the recent Israeli aggression has displaced more than 80 families, leaving them homeless and exposed, noting the ministry received widespread appeals to replace the tents that have been damaged and/or completely destroyed.

Read also: “Public Works”: Only 5% of shelter supplies enter Gaza

She added what is making things worse is that the Israeli occupation is preventing the entry of tents, tarpaulins, and shelter supplies and the reduction of usable land in the Gaza Strip to less than 30%.

Hammad explained that crews are continuing to work on opening main roads and providing alternative spaces for service facilities and educational centers but tough going. However, she announced the completion of the removal of the rubble at the site of the Hijazi Clinic in northern Gaza, in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and its handover to the Ministry of Health for reconstruction.

She indicated that the demolition and clearing of rubble is currently limited to only 4 out of the 10 sites previously identified, due to security restrictions and a lack of heavy equipment. The teams are operating with only one excavator and a very limited number of trucks.

Hammad noted the use of local alternatives and solutions, such as recycling crushed rubble to level roads and areas threatened by flooding, and melting plastic and aluminum to recycle supplies for health units in the camps is also moving.

UN reports confirm that the scale of destruction and rubble in the Gaza Strip surpasses that of major wars and conflicts in modern history. International organizations warn that preventing the entry of machinery, engineering equipment, and shelter materials exacerbates the humanitarian, environmental, and health catastrophe, hindering the provision of even the most basic services to more than two million displaced people lacking safe shelter.

The Ministry of Public Works and Housing in Gaza previously warned in August of the severe deterioration in the housing sector due to the widespread presence of tons of rubble. It emphasized that the aid and tents permitted entry by the Israeli occupation amount to no more than 5% of the actual needs of the displaced, given the strict restrictions at the crossings and the repeated forced displacement.

Recently, the Ministry of Public Works and Housing launched an emergency program to repair and renovate partially damaged homes in the Gaza Strip, a step aimed at persuading and facilitating the return of displaced families to their homes and original areas.

Last June, Hammad, announced a comprehensive plan for managing, storing, and crushing rubble for reuse, as part of the ongoing efforts to address the issue of debris resulting from the conflict.

Hammad said that the Ministry is presently working with the UNDP and have to-date  constructed more than 15 shelters that have accommodated over 1,700 displaced families in the Gaza Strip, including five centers in the south that alone have housed approximately 700 families.

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