Hezbollah chief says will not surrender under Israeli threat

Naim Qassem says Israel must first abide by the ceasefire agreement

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Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said yesterday his group would not surrender or lay down its weapons in response to Israeli threats, despite pressure on the Lebanese militants to disarm.

"This threat will not make us accept surrender," Qassem said in a televised speech to thousands of supporters in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, during the commemoration of Ashura.

Lebanese leaders, who took office in the aftermath of a war between Israel and Hezbollah last year, have repeatedly vowed a state monopoly on bearing arms while demanding Israel comply with a November ceasefire that ended the fighting.

'Aggression must stop'