Hezbollah's Chief Pledges Support to Damascus  Amid Rebels' Offensive
©Al-Manar / AFP

In his first address in the wake of the rebel offensive in Syria, Hezbollah’s Secretary General Naim Qassem affirmed that the Iran-backed group will be backing the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in foiling “the scheme to topple it.”

“The aggression against Syria is sponsored by America and Israel, which are trying to achieve gains by sabotaging Syria using terrorist groups to overthrow the regime. We, as Hezbollah, will be on Syria’s side in thwarting the goals of this aggression with whatever we can,” Qassem said in the televised address.

Syrian rebels, led by the Islamist Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and allied groups, launched a surprise and swift offensive last week, overrunning Syrian troops and capturing the major cities of Aleppo and Hama.

Regarding the ceasefire agreement with Israel, Qassem said it is merely the implementation mechanism for UN Resolution 1701 and “not a new agreement,” stressing that it does not concern Lebanon’s internal policies.

“What has to do with the Lebanese interior, the relationship between the resistance (Hezbollah) and the state, and between the resistance and the Army, will be agreed upon internally,” he said, adding that neither Israel nor the ceasefire monitoring committee will have anything to do with internal issues.

Qassem then announced the launch of a campaign dubbed “Promise and Commitment” in reference to his slain predecessor Hassan Nasrallah’s pledge to rebuild Beirut’s southern suburb and southern Lebanese villages devastated in the conflict with Israel that Hezbollah triggered by opening its so-called “support front” for Gaza.

He said Iran has offered material support for the displaced population of southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburb amounting to $77 million, which will benefit some 233,500 families.

He also pledged rent and reconstruction allowances for a year ranging from $8000 to $6000 and $4,000, in addition to “a gift” of $300-$400 per displaced family, all courtesy of Iran.

The largest part of Qassem’s speech was dedicated to justifying his party’s so-called “victory from the Divine,” in a complete denial of the losses, destruction and setbacks it has sustained.

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