The leader of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group on Friday said that its fighters would not disarm as long as Israeli troops remain in southern Lebanon and the Israeli air force regularly enters Lebanese air space.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Kassem said Hezbollah had implemented its commitments related to the US-brokered ceasefire that halted the fighting in the 14-month war with Israel.
Since the ceasefire went into effect in November last year, Israeli airstrikes have killed scores of people in Lebanon, including civilians and Hezbollah members. Israel had said it was targeting Hezbollah holdouts in southern Lebanon.
Photo: AFP
On Tuesday, the office of the UN high commissioner for human rights said that at least 71 civilians, including 14 women and nine children, have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since the ceasefire took effect.
Hezbollah launched its own attacks on Israel a day after the Israel-Hamas war erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, saying it was doing so to ease the pressure on Gaza by keeping part of the Israeli military busy along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon.
In response, Israeli troops pushed into Lebanon. The 14 months of the Hezbollah-Israel war killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon and caused destruction that will take US$11 billion to rebuild, according to the World Bank.
As part of the ceasefire, Hezbollah was to pull out from parts of southern Lebanon and give up its military positions and weapons south of the Litani River, while Israeli forces were to pull back into Israel. The Lebanese army was to take over Hezbollah’s positions and guarantee security in the south, along with the UN peacekeeping mission.
Israel withdrew much of its troops from southern Lebanon in February, but kept five posts inside Lebanese territory in what Lebanon says is a contravention of the ceasefire deal.
Last week, deputy US Special Envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus visited Beirut and called on the Lebanese state to assert its control all over Lebanon, and not only in the south along the border with Israel south of the Litani River.
“We will not allow anyone to remove Hezbollah’s weapons,” Kassem said. “These weapons gave life and freedom to our people.”
Kassem spoke hours after two separate Israeli drones killed two people in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military said it killed two Hezbollah members in the strikes.
“Does anyone expect us to discuss a national defense strategy as warplanes fly over our heads and there is occupation in south Lebanon?” Kassem asked. “These are not discussions. This is surrender. Let Israel withdraw first and stop its flights in the air.”
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