Hezbollah's second-in-command insists it is not seeking war, but would respond to Israeli escalation
Iran-backed Hezbollah wants to avoid a regional war but will respond in kind to any Israeli escalation, Naim Qassem told NBC News in an exclusive interview.
BEIRUT — Iran-backed Hezbollah is determined not to ramp up its monthslong firefight over Lebanon’s southern border, but will respond in kind to any Israeli escalation, the political party and militia’s second-in-command told NBC News in a rare and exclusive interview.
Naim Qassem faulted Israel and the United States for perpetuating tit-for-tat attacks that have killed hundreds in southern Lebanon and displaced tens of thousands of civilians on both sides of the Israeli-Lebanese border. The conflict started with Hamas’ terror attack on Israel on Oct. 7, which killed more than 1,200 people and sparked Israel’s bloody incursion into the Gaza Strip that has since killed nearly 34,000 people, according to Gaza's health ministry.
“We didn’t expect the war would last this long because we didn’t think that Netanyahu was that foolish, same for Biden and the other countries,” Qassem said, as Israel’s two-front conflict drags into its seventh month.
Naim Qassem, the Shia Lebanese cleric and politician who is Hezbollah's second-in-command, speaks with NBC News on Thursday.NBC NewsAs Hezbollah’s deputy secretary-general, Qassem ranks second behind the group’s revered leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
Qassem’s comments came as Israel prepares its response to an unprecedented retaliatory Iranian missile and drone barrage against the Jewish state — an impending reprisal that would bring the Middle East closer to a region-wide war than at any time in recent memory. Israel carried out a strike inside Iran overnight, a person familiar with the situation told NBC News. Earlier Thursday, Israeli officials notified U.S. officials that a response was coming.
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