Hezbollah’s leader says it has responded to US proposal, ceasefire in Israel’s hands
Naim Qassem demands complete cessation of hostilities, preservation of Lebanese sovereignty, threatens to attack Tel Aviv in response to Israeli strikes on Beirut
In his third address as Hezbollah leader, Naim Qassem said on Wednesday that the terror group had reviewed an American proposal for a ceasefire and submitted its response through the mediation of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and that the ball is now in Israel’s court.
In a pre-recorded speech, Qassem said the terror group would not disclose its position to the media, but noted that in negotiations, the terror group had adhered to two principles: a complete cessation of hostilities, and the preservation of Lebanese sovereignty.
He rejected the notion that Israel would be able to keep striking Hezbollah even after a truce is reached, saying that Israel should not be allowed to breach Lebanon’s sovereignty.
The speech came a few hours after Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar told 100 foreign ambassadors that Israel wanted a durable agreement with Hezbollah, but needed to maintain the right to act if the agreement was violated.
Qassem also vowed that Hezbollah had the means to continue to engage the IDF in a long war of attrition and that the group was willing to “pay any price because the price will also rise for the enemy,” adding that it would respond to Israeli strikes on Beirut by targeting Tel Aviv.
“When the enemy does not achieve its goals, it means we have won,” he asserted.
Qassem said Hezbollah was allowing ceasefire talks to continue and was watching to see if they would produce results, adding that a ceasefire depended on “the Israeli response and the seriousness” of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Through the agreement, the occupation [Israel] believed that it could obtain what it has not achieved on the battlefield, but that is impossible,” Qassem said.
The terror leader’s speech came shortly after US Mideast envoy Amos Hochstein announced that he would travel to Israel to try to secure a ceasefire after making “additional progress” in a second meeting with Berri in Beirut.
While his schedule in Israel was not immediately clear, Hochstein was reportedly set to meet with Netanyahu on Thursday morning.
Addressing Lebanon’s political stalemate, Qassem said the terror group would act in cooperation with other political forces and would “bring its contribution for the election of a new president by the parliament” after a ceasefire was achieved.
Since October 8, 2023, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war there.
The conflict with the group escalated in late September with Israel’s increased strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, in which the vast majority of its leadership was killed, including former leader Hassan Nasrallah, and a subsequent ground offensive launched in southern Lebanon by the IDF.
Hezbollah has since expanded its attacks to also target cities in central and northern Israel with rockets, in addition to the attacks on the border, though in recent days the IDF has seen a decrease in the number of attacks.
The attacks on northern Israel since October 2023 have resulted in the deaths of 44 civilians. In addition, 71 IDF soldiers and reservists have died in cross-border skirmishes and in the ensuing ground operation launched in southern Lebanon in late September.
Two soldiers have been killed in a drone attack from Iraq, and there have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.
The IDF estimates that some 3,000 Hezbollah operatives have been killed in the conflict. Around 100 members of other terror groups, along with hundreds of civilians, have also been reported killed in Lebanon.
Lazar Berman contributed to this report.
