Naim Qassem says his group will not surrender or lay down weapons in response to Israeli threats, despite pressure on the group to disarm. The Hezbollah chief says the Lebanese group remains open to peace, but it will not disarm or back down from confronting Israel until it ends its air raids and withdraws from southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah conflict began a day after Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attack on southern Israel and intensified in September, leaving the Iran-backed group badly bruised and much of its political and military leadership dead.