Hezbollah Rejects Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire, Says Resistance Will Continue

Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group, rejected a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon and demanded a full withdrawal of Israeli forces.

Reuters reported on June 4 that Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem, in a statement broadcast on the group’s Al-Manar TV, said any deal requiring Hezbollah fighters to leave southern Lebanon “would mean surrender, defeat and the achievement of the enemy’s goals.”

The U.S. proposal, he said, amounted to a roadmap to annihilate part of the Lebanese people and enslave the rest. “Resistance will continue as long as the occupation persists,” Qassem said.

Hezbollah’s priority is to end the aggression, secure a ceasefire and achieve a complete Israeli military withdrawal, he said. The group has never promised anyone it would stop resisting while the occupation continues.

Israel and Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire on June 3 under U.S. mediation. A condition of the truce was a complete halt to Hezbollah attacks south of Lebanon’s Litani River and the withdrawal of all Hezbollah fighters from the area.

Clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah are continuing in southern Lebanon. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on June 4 that Israel would continue attacks on Lebanon for the time being and would not withdraw from the south.

Israeli forces are expanding their operational area northward from southern Lebanon. The fighting between Israel and Hezbollah could become the biggest obstacle to U.S.-Iran negotiations to end the war, Reuters said.