Hezbollah Deputy Sheikh Naim Qassem on Tuesday vowed that Hezbollah would strike targets across Israel in the face of Israeli attacks on Lebanon but also called for a ceasefire, saying it was “the solution.”
“The solution is a ceasefire, we are not speaking from a position of weakness,” Qassem said. “If the Israelis do not want that, we will continue.”
Qassem suggested Hezbollah would only agree to a ceasefire if there were also one in Gaza, although he recently signaled flexibility on that issue. “Lebanon cannot be separated from Palestine, nor can the region be separated from Palestine,” he said.
Qassem said that Hezbollah would expand its strikes in Israel in response to Israel launching attacks across Lebanon. On Monday, Israel bombed a northern Lebanese village in a Christian-majority area, killing at least 23 people.
“Since the Israeli enemy targeted all of Lebanon, we have the right from a defensive position to target any place,” Qassem said.
Also on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his opposition to a ceasefire in Lebanon. Netanyahu told French President Emmanuel Macron that Israel is “opposed to a unilateral ceasefire, which does not change the security situation in Lebanon, and which will only return it to the way it was.”
The US is also opposed to a ceasefire in Lebanon and is strongly backing the Israeli assault despite previous claims that it sought a diplomatic solution.
Since Israel dramatically escalated its bombing campaign in Lebanon on September 23, over 1,500 people have been killed by Israeli airstrikes, including many civilians. Over the past year, Israeli attacks have killed a total of 2,350 people in Lebanon.
The Israeli assault has also caused a mass displacement crisis, with the UN saying about 1.2 million people have been displaced, including over 400,000 children. The UN also said that Israel has about 25% of Lebanon under evacuation orders.
