Hezbollah on Independence Day: ‘Israel’ Must Be Repelled from South Lebanon, Aggression must End 

By Staff

In the name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful

On the occasion of the 82nd Independence Day, Hezbollah issued the following statement:

This year, Independence Day arrives while Lebanon remains exposed to “Israeli” aggression and US blockade, both of which target its land, its people, and its resources, amid a delicate and sensitive phase the region is passing through.

The people of Lebanon have offered convoys of martyrs and a torrent of sacrifices in order to wrest their independence and liberate their land from the grip of occupation.

Through unity, solidarity, cohesion, steadfastness, and resistance, they were able to transform national independence into a unifying milestone under whose banner all components and groups of the Lebanese people come together, so that Lebanon may remain free, sovereign, and independent, rejecting subordination to any foreign power.

Preserving Lebanon’s independence today, in light of the storms and imminent dangers threatening Lebanon and the region, is the responsibility of all Lebanese. 

It further requires a spirit of resistance to occupation, aggression, tutelage, and domination, as well as awareness and a unified national stance. 

In addition, it requires maintaining the formulas that forged independence, defeated the Zionist enemy on May 25, 2000, shattered its power in the July 2006 aggression, prevented it from achieving its goals in the 2024 aggression, and brought down the project of Takfiri terrorism in 2017.

On this unifying national occasion, Hezbollah calls for:

-    Strengthening national unity, solidarity, and cooperation among all Lebanese, in all their groups and political forces, as these are the essential pillars for confronting “Israeli” aggression and preserving Lebanon’s independence and dignity.

-    Rejecting any form of dependence or external dictates, for Lebanon’s independence can only be achieved by rejecting and confronting any external project and by safeguarding its sovereignty and decisions from influences that do not serve the interests of Lebanon and its people.

-     Defending Lebanon’s rights over all its territory, waters, and natural resources, and affirming its natural and legitimate right to defense and resistance in response to any aggression.

-    Holding onto Lebanon’s elements of strength and not relinquishing them, in order to preserve its national rights and to form a basis for defeating all schemes and plans being woven against Lebanon and the region.

-    Making every possible and immediate effort to compel the “Israeli” enemy to implement the ceasefire agreement and UN Resolution 1701, and urging the guarantor states to pressure it to halt its attacks, which continue to target civilians- including schools, students, municipal employees, homes, livelihoods, and economic interests. All efforts must be made to end the “Israeli” occupation, drive it out of the South, and prevent it from expanding and threatening Lebanon’s security and sovereignty.

-    Taking practical steps toward reconstruction and providing all necessities for the steadfastness and resilience of the people in Southern Lebanon, who water the land of the homeland daily with their pure blood.

In conclusion, we affirm that the people who offered martyrs and immense sacrifices to defend their land, and who withstood occupation, massacres, and siege in order to live free and dignified, will not accept that their independence be harmed or that their dignity and sovereignty be violated, and they will spare no cost to preserve them.