Desperate Hezbollah pleads with the pope, masking collapse after Israeli strikes shatter its terror leadership.
The Hezbollah terror organization issued a plea Saturday calling on Pope Leo XIV to condemn alleged Israeli “aggression” against Lebanon—an appeal widely seen as a sign of Hezbollah’s mounting desperation following more than a year of crushing setbacks inflicted by the IDF.
The statement comes just days before the pontiff’s arrival in Beirut. Hezbollah, backed and armed by Iran, emerged severely weakened after over a year of escalating hostilities, culminating in two months of open conflict with Israel that began when the group launched cross-border attacks a day after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 massacre in southern Israel.
Although a ceasefire was declared a year ago, Israel has continued precision strikes on Hezbollah targets—efforts the IDF says are aimed at stopping the terror group from rearming and re-entrenching itself in violation of the truce. Israel also maintains troops in five strategic southern Lebanese areas to prevent renewed attacks.
Under intense US pressure, Lebanon’s government has committed to disarming Hezbollah, a demand the terror organization fiercely rejects. The group insists its militia should remain armed—despite its catastrophic losses.
In its message to the pope, Hezbollah attempted to cloak itself in the language of “coexistence,” while simultaneously vowing to continue “resisting” Israel, calling IDF defensive actions “unacceptable aggression.”
The letter urged Pope Leo to denounce “the injustice” supposedly inflicted by “Zionist invaders”—ignoring the fact that Hezbollah initiated the conflict, and continues to operate from civilian areas, endangering the very Lebanese population it claims to protect.
Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Qassem confirmed that a delegation had been assigned to personally deliver the letter to the pontiff, boasting that the group “welcomes” the visit and hopes the pope will “stand by the oppressed”—a reference to Hezbollah’s long-standing propaganda effort to portray itself as a victim rather than an Iranian proxy responsible for regional destabilization.
Qassem insisted his terror group had honored the 2024 ceasefire, even as its fighters launched repeated attacks and attempted rearmament. He acknowledged the possibility of a future war, saying, “It’s possible at some point, yes, that possibility exists”—a thinly veiled threat directed at both Israel and Lebanese civilians.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah is reeling from one of its most devastating blows since the truce: Israel’s targeted killing last week of Haytham Ali Tabatabai, the group’s top military commander and one of its most senior leaders since the 1980s.
The IDF described Tabatabai as a “veteran and central operative,” formerly head of the elite Radwan Force and a key figure in Hezbollah’s operations in Syria.
His death dealt a significant blow to Hezbollah’s reconstruction efforts, especially following the heavy losses the group suffered during the last war—losses it has struggled to replace.
Pope Leo XIV is expected to hold an open-air mass for 120,000 people and lead an interfaith meeting during his three-day visit to Lebanon. Hezbollah hopes to manipulate the visit to bolster its legitimacy, even as the organization faces growing internal criticism, military attrition, and international condemnation.
