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The leader of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah has reiterated the group’s rejection of an ongoing ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon that was brokered by the U.S.
“There is no ceasefire in Lebanon, but rather continuous Israeli-American aggression,” declared Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem in a written statement Monday, vowing that Hezbollah would “remain patient and continue to resist.”
The Hezbollah chief argued that Israel “has not implemented a single step of the agreement, violating it more than 10,000 times, killing 500 civilians, wounding hundreds, destroying thousands of homes and livelihoods, and displacing people from their villages.”
Israel’s on-and-off war with Hezbollah escalated dramatically two days after Israel and the U.S. launched their joint strikes on Iran, on Feb. 28. A barrage of Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon and around the capital Beirut was followed by an ongoing ground invasion.
Israeli officials say while they are not seeking to permanently annex part of Lebanon, forces will occupy a “security zone” in the country’s south, along the Israeli border, indefinitely, until the Hezbollah threat is removed, and that residents will not be allowed to return to their homes south of a declared “yellow line” until then.
“There is no yellow line or buffer zone, and there will not be,” declared Qassem on Monday, accusing Israel of trying to seize land by force. “With our faith and our exclusive choice of reclaiming and liberating our land and refusing surrender, we will certainly succeed in confronting it.”
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Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported clashes on Monday between Hezbollah and Israeli forces in the south.
Israel and Hezbollah have regularly accused each other of violating the ceasefire since it came into effect more than three weeks ago, with both sides claiming to be attacking the other in self defense.
Lebanese authorities say the Israeli operations have killed more than 2,600 people and forced more than 1 million to flee their homes. At least 40 people have been killed in Israel by Iranian and Hezbollah missile and drone attacks since the war began at the end of February.
