Hezbollah's new leader, Sheikh Naim Qassem, on Wednesday warned Israel it would pay a heavy price if its forces remain in Lebanon, stressing his group was ready for a prolonged conflict.
"Get out of our land to reduce your losses. If you stay, you will pay more than you have ever paid in your life," Qassem said in a pre-recorded speech, asserting Hezbollah could sustain fighting "for days, weeks and months."
Qassem also said that Hezbollah is recovering from a series of Israeli blows, including the killing of his predecessor Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, with vacant positions filled and plans put in place.
After "painful" blows by Israel, Hezbollah "has started to recover by filling the gaps, appointing alternative leaders and commencing work to organize everything," Qassem added.
Qassem also stressed that the Iran-backed group is fighting Israel to defend Lebanese territory and not as a result of foreign influence.
Hezbollah is not "fighting on anyone's behalf," Qassem stressed, adding that Iran "supports us but doesn't want anything" in return.
Qassem also said he would stick to the war strategy laid out by his predecessor Nasrallah, who was killed by Israeli forces last month after full-scale fighting broke out.
"My work program is a continuation of the work program of our leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah," Qassem said, pledging to press on with "the war plan that he (Nasrallah) developed with the leadership" of the Iran-backed group.
As for the current ceasefire efforts, Qassem said that Hezbollah would accept a truce “if the Israelis decide that they want to stop the aggression.” He, however, said that the ceasefire terms should be “appropriate and suitable,” emphasizing that his group will not “beg for a ceasefire.”