Hezbollah's second-in-command, "Israel's ground forces can't advance"

Hezbollah, which is engaged in a ground war with Israel in southern Lebanon, has devalued the performance of Israel's forces and expressed its willingness to continue the fight.

"Ground clashes began a week ago in the south, but Israel has yet to advance," Hezbollah's second-in-command, Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qasem, said in a speech released today.

Israel's claim that it has hurt Hezbollah's capabilities is nothing but a delusion, he said, stressing that "holding persistent is our only solution."

Regarding the death of Hezbollah's head, Hasan Nasrallah, in a targeted Israeli airstrike on the 27th of last month, he said, "It is difficult to select a new secretary-general because of the war," adding, "We will announce it when the election is completed."

"Hezbollah's command and control is precisely organized and all roles are filled without vacancies," Kasem said.

After Nasrallah's death, Hezbollah's executive chairman Hashim Safiedin was once mentioned as the successor, but he reportedly lost contact after Israel's airstrike in Beirut on the 3rd.