Hezbollah head rejects ‘surrender’ Israel-Lebanon deal
Hezbollah leader Naim Qasim rejected the US-brokered security agreement between Lebanon and Israel a day after it was signed, describing it as surrendering to Israel.
In the latest example of hostilities that continue despite repeated ceasefires and agreements, Israel launched a drone attack on southern Lebanon.
More than a million Lebanese have been driven from their homes in a conflict that runs parallel to the wider war in Iran.
Hezbollah and Iran say the United States has promised to end hostilities in Lebanon to end the war, as part of a memorandum of understanding signed two weeks ago.
The framework agreed on Friday envisages the deployment of the Lebanese army, as well as the gradual withdrawal of Israel from parts of southern Lebanon.
However, Israeli forces will be allowed to remain in the expanded security zone for now, pending further enforcement.
In his statement, Kasim called the agreement “null and void” and accused the Lebanese government of making unilateral concessions and undermining Lebanon’s sovereignty.
He criticized the provisions tying Israel’s withdrawal to Hezbollah’s disarmament, saying they effectively legitimized Israel’s military presence and crossed “all red lines”.
The group would continue its armed resistance, he added: “We did not leave the battlefield in the most difficult circumstances, and we will not leave it.”
Lebanon’s state news agency said an Israeli drone hit Nabatieh al-Fawqa on Saturday.
The region is outside the security zone shown on the map published by Israel, which Israeli soldiers will continue to control.
The Israeli army told Reuters that it carried out the attack using a drone because it had no troops in the immediate area.
He said he targeted an individual who posed a threat to his forces, without providing further details or evidence.
Kasim said the Iran-US memorandum of understanding reached earlier this month, which guarantees Lebanon’s territorial integrity, should serve as the basis for ending the conflict, rather than Friday’s Washington DC agreement.
