Hezbollah’s deputy leader said in comments broadcast Tuesday that the group supports efforts to reach a ceasefire in Lebanon and, for the first time, omitted any mention of a ceasefire agreement in Gaza as a precondition for halting attacks by group against Israel.
Naim Qassem’s comments were broadcast on television after Israeli forces began ground operations in southwestern Lebanon, expanding incursions into a new area.
Qassem said Hezbollah supports attempts by parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, to secure an end to the fighting, which has intensified in recent weeks with Israeli ground incursions and the deaths of key Hezbollah leaders.
“We support the political activity led by Berri under the title of ceasefire,” Qassem said in a 30-minute televised speech.
It is unclear whether this means a change in position after a year in which Hezbollah said it was fighting in support of the Palestinians during the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Qassem said Hezbollah will not be the first to succumb in the war and that its capabilities are still intact. Israel has not yet made progress after ground clashes erupted in southern Lebanon a week ago, he said.
“In any case, once the ceasefire issue takes shape, and once diplomacy succeeds in realizing it, all other details can be discussed and decisions can be made,” Qassem said.
“If the enemy (Israel) continues its war, then the battlefield will decide.”
Regional tensions triggered a year ago by the Palestinian armed group Hamas’s attack on southern Israel have escalated into a series of Israeli ground and air operations over Lebanon and direct attacks by Iran against Israeli military installations.
Iran warned Israel on Tuesday against any attack on the Islamic Republic, a week after Tehran fired a barrage of missiles at Israel.
Any attack on Iranian infrastructure will be met with retaliation, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said.
Source: Terra
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