Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said on Wednesday that those demanding its disarmament were “serving” Israeli goals and accused US envoy Tom Barrack of “intimidating” Lebanon.
In a televised address marking the first anniversary of the targeted killing by Israel of senior commander Fuad Shukr, Qassem said “anyone calling today for the surrender of weapons, whether internally or externally, on the Arab or the international stage, is serving the Israeli project.”
He accused Barrack of using “intimidation and threats” with the aim of “aiding Israel.”
Shukr was the first senior Hezbollah commander to be killed by Israel in cross-border exchanges that began when the Lebanese terror group started attacking northern Israeli communities and military sites a day after its Palestinian ally Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terror onslaught in southern Israel.
Weeks after his death, the hostilities escalated into a full-blown war, which ended with a US-brokered ceasefire on November 27.
Under the truce, Hezbollah was to withdraw its fighters north of the Litani river, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border, leaving the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers as the only armed parties to its south.
A woman holds photos of top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukur, left, the terror group’s former leader Hassan Nasrallah, right, and Nasrallah’s successor, Hashem Safieddine, center, all three of whom were killed in separate Israeli airstrikes, during a commemoration marking the first anniversary of Shukr’s death in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, July 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Qassem, who became Hezbollah’s secretary-general after his predecessor Hassan Nasrallah and presumed successor Hashem Safieddine were killed in separate Israeli strikes, said he considered the ceasefire agreement to apply “exclusively south of the Litani River.”
“However, if some link weapons to the agreement, I say to them: weapons are an internal Lebanese affair that has nothing to do… with the Israeli enemy.”
Washington has been ramping up pressure on Beirut to disarm Hezbollah, with Barrack making several visits for talks with Lebanese officials.
Under the truce deal, Israel was supposed to have withdrawn all of its troops from Lebanon but has kept them in five strategic areas. Israel has also kept up its airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon for alleged violations of the ceasefire, threatening to continue them until the Iran-backed terrorist organization has been disarmed.
“The imminent danger is the Israeli aggression… this aggression must stop,” Qassem said.
“All political discourse in the country must be directed toward stopping the aggression, not toward handing over weapons to Israel.”
Construction vehicles are seen at an IDF post inside southern Lebanon, just north of Metula, July 28, 2025. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)
A Lebanese official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP that “Lebanese authorities are currently under international and regional pressure, with demands that they formally commit to disarming Hezbollah in a cabinet meeting.”
Lebanon’s demand that Israel complete its withdrawal before Hezbollah is disarmed was rejected by the United States, according to a Lebanese source with knowledge of the matter.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called a cabinet meeting for next week to discuss “the extension of state sovereignty over all its territories exclusively by its own forces.”
The meeting will also focus on “arrangements for the ceasefire… which include ideas from ambassador Barrack’s proposal regarding its implementation.”
Hezbollah insists Israel must halt its strikes and withdraw from the remaining positions it holds in the south before it will discuss the future of its weapons, though a report last week said the terror group does not intend to disarm even if Israeli forces completely pull out of Lebanon.
Is The Times of Israel important to you?
If so, we have a request.
Every day, even during war, our journalists keep you abreast of the most important developments that merit your attention. Millions of people rely on ToI for fast, fair and free coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
We care about Israel – and we know you do too. So today, we have an ask: show your appreciation for our work by joining The Times of Israel Community, an exclusive group for readers like you who appreciate and financially support our work.
Yes, I’ll give
Yes, I’ll give
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You appreciate our journalism
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
You clearly find our careful reporting valuable, in a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.
Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically since October 7.
So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you’ll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)
{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};
if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;
n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,’script’,
‘https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’);
fbq(‘init’, ‘272776440645465’);
fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);
