ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Naim Qassem, secretary-general of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, on Friday promised that the group will respond to Israel’s assassination of its top military chief in a strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs earlier this week.

Israel carried out a strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday, killing at least five, including Abu Ali al-Tabtabai, the acting chief of staff of Hezbollah.

“What happened is a blatant assault and a heinous crime, and we have the right to respond, and we will determine the appropriate timing for that,” said Qassem during a memorial ceremony for Tabtabai and his associates.

Despite reaching a ceasefire in November 2024, Israel has continued to routinely strike alleged Hezbollah positions in Beirut and southern Lebanon over the past year.

“Hezbollah's weapons did not protect the party's leaders or the Lebanese and their property,” said Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Thursday, adding that the state aims to end the first phase of the Hezbollah disarmament by the end of the year.

Qassem responded to Salam’s remarks, saying the government and the army are responsible for deterring Israeli aggression, but have so far failed to protect the Lebanese people.

“The government said it wants to confront and defend, and I say to it: rights cannot be taken without fulfilling the most important duties, which is protecting the citizens. Let the government show us how it will deter the enemy,” said the Hezbollah chief.

Qassem said that Hezbollah and other resistance factions have fended off Israel’s advances on Lebanon since 2000, and labeled the 2024 ceasefire as a “victory for the resistance, Hezbollah, the people, and Lebanon.”

“No one is authorized to relinquish Lebanon's strength; the mandate is for liberation and the recovery of land and prisoners... so invest in the will of our people,” Qassem stated.

“We are ready to discuss the defense strategy, but not under pressure, nor seeking a new agreement, nor to give up our strength within any other agreement, nor to evade the current agreement,” he added.

Founded in 1982 to oppose the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, Hezbollah has enjoyed strong ties with and received extensive material support from Iran, with the group forming the lynchpin of Tehran's “Axis of Resistance” across the Middle East.