Hezbollah chief claims truce ‘means nothing at the practical level, is an insult’ to Lebanon

Naim Qassem, head of the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah, in a statement read on the group’s al-Manar TV says a paper published by the US State Department that it describes as the text of a ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel “means nothing at the practical level, but it is an insult to our country.”

“Everyone knows that the government of Lebanon has not met or approved this statement,” he says.

The text published by the US describes the 10-day truce as a gesture by Israel “to enable good-faith negotiations” toward a permanent peace agreement with Lebanon. The text gives Israel the “right to take all necessary measures in self-defense, at any time, against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks.”

Qassem says the truce should entail “a complete cessation of all hostilities” and that Hezbollah “will respond to enemy violations.”