Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary-General, Na’im Qassem, affirmed that the party’s weapons are a “Lebanese internal matter” and part of a “national defense strategy.”

Qassem accused the Israeli occupation of violating the ceasefire to disarm the resistance, considering the demand for disarmament as serving the Israeli agenda.

He added that Washington was surprised by the unified official Lebanese stance that conditions the cessation of aggression before negotiations.