Hezbollah rejected the agreement between Israel and Lebanon to extend the truce and threatened new attacks
Hezbollah General Secretary, Naim Qasemrejected on Monday the extension of the high fire between the Shiite group Lebanese and Israelannounced on Sunday by the United States, and demanded the immediate withdrawal of the Israeli troops of the territories occupied in the south of Lebanon. In a speech transmitted by the Lebanese chain when Manar, Qasem declared: “We do not accept the extension of the Israeli withdrawal period even for a day. Israel has to retire after 60 days of the truce initially agreed. ”
The agreement, negotiated in November by the United States and France, he ended 14 months of clashes between Israel and Hezbollah, establishing a period of 60 days for the Israeli withdrawal of the south of Lebanon and the replication of the armed group north of the Litani River. However, Israel justified its permanence in the region claiming that the Lebanese government has not fully fulfilled its part of the agreement, which included the elimination of the armed presence of Hezbollah in the area. According to a statement from the White House of yesterday, the truce was extended to the February 18 to facilitate negotiations on the release of Lebanese prisoners captured after October 7, 2023.
The agreement had been reached with the new Lebanese president, Joseph AounFaced with Hezbollah, a terrorist organization supported by Iran who controlled all political decisions in Beirut, until Israel annulled its leaders and decimated its troops funded and armed by Tehran.
President Aoun opened a dialogue with Israel and with the White House, and after long hours of secret negotiations it was agreed to extend the truce for 21 more days.
The situation in the south of Lebanon is still unstable. On Sunday, the Lebanese Ministry of Health reported that Israeli soldiers killed 22 people and left 124 injured, including civilians who tried to return to their homes. The Israeli army admitted having triggered “warning shots in multiple areas”, although it did not specify whether these actions resulted in victims. In response, Qasem held the United Nations and the United States for the consequences of the delay in Israeli withdrawal, qualifying the Israeli State as a “war criminal” due to military operations that left more than 4,000 dead and 16,638 injured in Lebanon between September and December 2024, while the truce was in force.
The leader of Hezbollah justified the need for his organization as “resistance to face occupation” and said that the “trilogy of the people, the army and the Lebanese resistance” had been key to curbing Israeli advances towards Beirut. In addition, he criticized the silence of local political leaders about the infractions to the high fire and reiterated that the occupation constitutes “An aggression to the sovereignty that must face.”
Recent confrontations are part of a prolonged conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, a terrorist group backed by Iran that combines political, social and military activities. The last climb began after Hamas attacks against Israel on October 7, 2023, when Hezbollah launched his campaign in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza. This triggered an Israeli offensive that included aerial bombings, a land invasion in the south of Lebanon and the murder of high leaders of Hezbollah, which caused the displacement of more than 1.2 million people and the death of thousands of civilians.
From the extension of the truce, thousands of Lebanese residents sought to return to their peoples in the border region, although the authorities warn that the area is not yet safe. The Lebanese prime minister, Najib Mikati, confirmed that the extension of the truce was agreed after mediation of the United States and emphasized that the objective remains to be implemented a durable fire that guarantees the safety of civilians and the return of displaced communities.
