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Hezbollah rejects Israel ceasefire, leader calls talks 'humiliating'
🇵🇱 Poland /Conflict & Security

Hezbollah rejects Israel ceasefire, leader calls talks 'humiliating'

From Rzeczpospolita · () Polish

Translated from Polish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Ongoing story
  • Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected a ceasefire with Israel, calling negotiations "futile and humiliating" for Lebanon.
  • The rejection came despite a US-brokered agreement for a fragile truce and the creation of 'pilot' security zones.
  • Hezbollah views the proposed ceasefire, which includes withdrawing fighters from southern Lebanon, as a capitulation to Israeli demands.

Hezbollah has categorically rejected a ceasefire agreement with Israel, with the group's leader Naim Qassem denouncing the negotiations as "futile and humiliating" for Lebanon. Qassem stated that broad segments of the Lebanese population also oppose the deal.

negotiations were 'futile and humiliating' for Lebanon

— Naim QassemDescribing Hezbollah's stance on the ceasefire talks with Israel.

The strong words from the Iran-backed organization came after Israel and Lebanon announced a renewal of a fragile truce. This agreement, brokered by the United States, also included the establishment of "pilot" security zones within Lebanon, from which Hezbollah agents would be excluded. A joint statement from the US Department of State emphasized that the deal's implementation hinges on Hezbollah completely ceasing hostilities.

Qassem, who did not participate in the talks, argued that the supposed ceasefire, which entails Hezbollah halting fire and withdrawing fighters from the border region with Israel, is tantamount to surrender and fulfills Israeli objectives. The agreement, reached after four rounds of US-led talks in Washington, requires the "evacuation of all Hezbollah agents" from the area between the Israeli border and the Litani River, approximately 30 kilometers north, which is currently occupied by Israeli forces.

the supposed ceasefire... is tantamount to surrender and fulfills Israeli objectives.

— Naim QassemExplaining Hezbollah's rejection of the US-brokered truce agreement.

The deal also proposed that the US would assist in creating "pilot zones where the Lebanese Armed Forces would assume exclusive control of the territory, excluding all non-state actors." However, the document lacks maps detailing these zones or explaining their practical operation. Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun indicated the ceasefire could be implemented within 24 hours of final consent from all parties, while Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated the Israeli army would continue operations to "eliminate terrorist infrastructure."

the Israeli army 'will continue shelling and ground operations' to 'eliminate terrorist infrastructure in the region.'

— Israel KatzStating Israel's continued military actions despite the proposed ceasefire.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Rzeczpospolita in Polish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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