ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iran-backed Hezbollah movement in Lebanon has rejected the outcomes of a US-brokered ceasefire between Beirut and Tel Aviv as “futile,” describing the direct negotiations - of which it was not a party - as “humiliating,” while affirming that it will continue launching attacks on Israeli targets as long as Israel’s military action in Lebanon persists.
“The outcomes of the [negotiations] are futile, humiliating, and disgraceful,” Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said in a Thursday speech, adding that “when the primary objective of any agreement is the disarmament of the resistance, it means that such an agreement destroys Lebanon’s strength.”
He added, “As long as our villages are insecure, bombed, destroyed, and their people are being killed, the Zionist [Israeli] settlements will not be safe either,” further noting, “We will fight the aggressors until we drive them from our land and put an end to their attacks.”
The remarks came shortly after the US State Department said on Thursday that Israel and Lebanon agreed on a US-brokered cessation of hostilities, under which Hezbollah members would withdraw from areas up to 30 kilometers from Israel’s northern border with southern Lebanon.
“As a result of the U.S.-led negotiations, Israel and Lebanon agreed to the implementation of a ceasefire,” following a “fourth high-level trilateral meeting between Israeli and Lebanese representatives” earlier this week, the US Department of State said in a statement.
“Israel reaffirmed that its security and respect for its territorial integrity can only be achieved through the disarmament of Hezbollah and the dismantling of its infrastructure,” while Lebanon stressed “the necessity of mutual respect for internationally recognized borders” and “the urgent need for the full implementation of the cessation of hostilities.”
For his part, the Hezbollah leader, Qassem, noted that his group is not concerned with the outcomes of the latter agreement, stating, “We have given no one any commitment not to confront aggression, and as long as this aggression continues, we will confront them with full force.”
He further added, “We seek only a comprehensive end to the aggression and the withdrawal of Israeli forces [from southern Lebanon],” adding that “there should be no distinction between southern Lebanon and other [Lebanese territories.”
The US-brokered deal between Beirut and Tel Aviv came as Israel and Hezbollah have been locked in confrontations since early March, when the Iran-aligned Lebanese group launched an initial attack on northern Israel, which was followed by hundreds of Israeli air raids on what it said were Hezbollah targets across Lebanon.
Hezbollah’s action formed part of Tehran’s broader response to the US-Israeli aerial campaign against Iran in late February, during which thousands of targets across the country were struck over six weeks of hostilities.
Iran had launched thousands of drone and missile strikes across the Middle East, targeting what it described as US assets - particularly in Gulf Arab states - while also carrying out retaliatory attacks against Israel.
Tehran and Washington later agreed to a Pakistan-mediated ceasefire on April 8, halting fighting to allow space for talks. While the first round of talks concluded without a final agreement on April 11, a second round has yet to take place.
Simultaneously, US-brokered peace talks between Israel and Lebanon opened in Washington in mid-April, marking the first high-level contact between the two countries since 1993 and leading to a 10-day ceasefire.
A second round followed in late April, and a third in mid-May, during which both sides agreed on a negotiating framework and a 45-day ceasefire extension. However, despite the Israel-Hezbollah truce in Lebanon formally beginning on April 17, it has yet to be observed, with both sides violating it.
The State Department said Thursday that the agreement came after “a fourth high-level trilateral meeting between Israeli and Lebanese representatives” earlier this week, further noting that the two sides “agreed to reconvene the political and security tracks during the week of June 22, with a view to reaching a comprehensive agreement,” under US facilitation.
