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🇰🇷 South Korea /Conflict & Security

Hezbollah rejects Israel-Lebanon ceasefire; U.S.-Iran peace talks clouded

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Ongoing story
  • Hezbollah rejected a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon brokered by the U.S.
  • The group demands a complete halt to Israeli aggression and withdrawal from occupied territories.
  • The rejection complicates U.S.-Iran negotiations for a broader peace agreement, as Lebanon's conflict becomes a major obstacle.

Hezbollah, a powerful Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon, has rejected a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement with Israel, escalating tensions and complicating broader peace negotiations. The group insists on a complete cessation of Israeli attacks and withdrawal from Lebanese territory.

What we are interested in is only the complete cessation of aggression, a ceasefire, and Israel's withdrawal.

— Naim QassemHezbollah's Deputy Secretary-General stating the group's demands.

Hezbollah's Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qassem stated on the group's Al-Manar television that the "Washington Declaration," resulting from direct negotiations, was meaningless and humiliating. "What we are interested in is only the complete cessation of aggression, a ceasefire, and Israel's withdrawal," Qassem declared, adding that resistance would continue as long as Israel's occupation persists. The proposed agreement had stipulated Hezbollah's complete halt of operations south of the Litani River and withdrawal of all its fighters, conditions Hezbollah rejected, instead demanding Israel cease its attacks and withdraw.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps echoed Hezbollah's stance, issuing a statement that the primary condition for accepting a ceasefire in the region is a halt to hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon. They asserted that Israel must immediately stop its attacks on the Lebanese people and swiftly withdraw from occupied Lebanese territories behind internationally recognized borders.

Resistance will continue as long as Israel's occupation persists.

— Naim QassemHezbollah's Deputy Secretary-General emphasizing their continued opposition to Israeli occupation.

Despite U.S. President Donald Trump's earlier announcement of a ceasefire agreement, clashes between Israel and Hezbollah continued. An Israeli army captain was killed when Hezbollah fired anti-tank missiles at an Israeli tank north of the Litani River. Lebanese state media reported civilian casualties from Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon.

The primary condition for accepting a ceasefire in the region is a halt to hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon.

— Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard CorpsStatement outlining Iran's conditions for a ceasefire.

The ongoing conflict has also impacted UN peacekeeping forces. A UNIFIL peacekeeper from Serbia was killed and two others injured when mortar shells hit a base near Marjayoun. This marks the seventh UN peacekeeper death since Hezbollah began participating in the wider regional conflict following the U.S.-Iran tensions.

They contacted us and said, 'How about we stop now?'

— Donald TrumpU.S. President commenting on the ceasefire negotiations, contrary to Hezbollah's public stance.
DistantNews Editorial

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

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