The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, Naim Kassem, warned Saturday that if Israel’s attacks on Lebanon continue and the Lebanese state does not act to stop them, the group will resort to other alternatives.
He made the comments a day after Israel launched an attack on Beirut for the first time since a ceasefire ended the latest Israel-Hezbollah war in November. The strike came hours after two rockets were fired from Lebanon toward Israel, which Hezbollah denied firing.
Kassem’s speech was postponed due to the Israeli airstrikes, which also hit different parts of Lebanon including a suburb of the capital. The attack on Beirut is part of an ongoing conflict that has killed over 4,000 people in Lebanon and displaced about 60,000 Israelis since September.
Under a US-brokered ceasefire, Israel was supposed to withdraw from all Lebanese territory by late January, while Hezbollah had to end its armed presence south of the Litani river along the border with Israel. However, Israeli forces remain in five border locations, carrying out dozens of strikes on what they say are Hezbollah targets.
Hezbollah denies these claims and says it is being pressured into normalizing relations with Israel, a move it rejects. Kassem warned that if Israel does not abide by the deal and the Lebanese state is unable to enforce its implementation, “we will have to resort to other alternatives.”
These comments suggest that Hezbollah may use its military capabilities to confront Israeli troops inside Lebanon if the situation escalates further. The group has already launched rockets, drones, and missiles into Israel on several occasions since 2023.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/lebanon-israel-hezbollah-ceasefire-airstrike-hadath-violations-e8a91c5fc5d9e52fecc0c45a888138bc