BEIRUT, Lebanon: Hezbollah secretary-general Naim Qassem used a televised address to supporters on Wednesday to welcome US President Donald Trump’s bruising midterm losses, casting the outcome as “an opportunity” for his Iran-aligned movement and for other adversaries of Washington across the region.
Trump’s Republican Party was routed in last week’s congressional elections, with the Democratic Party reclaiming control of Congress. The president has since acknowledged that the war he initiated alongside Israel against Iran in February played a central role in his defeat.
“We have a real opportunity now,” Qassem told the crowd. “Trump has been defeated at the polls — an earthquake has struck America. The man who confronted Iran, Lebanon, Palestine and Yemen has lost, and he can no longer carry on as before. For us, his defeat carries consequences that are, in some respects, favorable.”
Qassem went further, describing Israeli caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “broken” after his own electoral setback. Netanyahu’s bloc fell well short of the 61 seats required to retain power in the October 27 vote, prompting Israel’s president to turn to Netanyahu’s rival Gadi Eisenkot in an effort to assemble a governing coalition.
Hezbollah, which for years held sway over political life in Lebanon, has been significantly weakened by two successive wars with Israel since 2023. In the most recent, the group pulled Lebanon into the wider Middle East conflict in March by striking Israel, drawing a sweeping response of airstrikes and a ground offensive that Beirut says has killed more than 4,300 people. Israeli forces continue to occupy large swathes of southern Lebanon.
A framework agreement reached between Lebanon and Israel in June under American mediation provided for a phased Israeli withdrawal and the disarmament of Hezbollah. Its implementation, however, has stalled. Addressing supporters on Wednesday, Qassem reaffirmed his refusal to lay down the group’s weapons until Israeli forces leave Lebanese territory.
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