From Hezbollah’s celebration at the Sports City in Beirut (Nabil Ismail)

Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem said at the festival commemorating the founding of Al-Mahdi Scouts that “resistance is an educational, moral, cultural, jihadi, and political choice.” This statement reflects the intellectual discourse of the “resistance” leaders. He did not speak about the option of using weapons or about cutting off the hands or tongues that might address “resistance.”

The image of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah displayed on the ground of the Sports City in Beirut was artistically clearer than the image projected on the Raouche Rock on September 27, with a significant difference in the nature of attendance between the two events. While the Raouche gathering included those who love provocation and symbols of a previous era of defiance, the second event had boys and girls in modest clothing with scouting badges, carrying religious and doctrinal meanings, promoting a special mythology related to awaiting the appearance of Imam Mahdi.

The scouting ceremony outwardly appears civil but may conceal non-civil intentions, showing a clear display of power through the youth ranks.

Hezbollah certainly wanted to close the painful “Raouche” chapter for itself, the presidency, and the government, affirming its continued presence on the Lebanese scene, relying on the doctrinal constants inspired by the Supreme Leader of the Iranian Revolution, Sayyed Ali Khamenei. The party also demonstrated its financial capabilities through the cost of the celebration, participant transportation, and provision of a uniform.

The party seeks to capitalize on the blood of victims from the recent Israeli aggression, naming participants “Generations of the Master,” especially as the gathering precedes preparations for upcoming elections, after failing to postpone them due to the law establishing six new seats for expatriates.

The strength of the youth in Al-Mahdi Scouts may have more internal impact than the party’s missiles and drones, which failed to hit the enemy and stirred internal tensions. Iranian National Security Advisor Ali Larijani emphasized that political and popular presence in Lebanon is a primary goal for the party amid developments following the Gaza ceasefire and U.S. President Donald Trump’s readiness to cooperate with Iran under new approaches.