Hezbollah rejects US-brokered Lebanon-Israel ceasefire, calling it a 'roadmap to destruction'
Hezbollah chief Naim Kassim dismissed the Washington-mediated truce as a 'roadmap to destruction,' hours after renewed Israeli strikes and a mortar attack killed a UN peacekeeper in southern Lebanon.
The rejected agreement
Israel and Lebanon announced a US-brokered path to implementing a ceasefire late Wednesday in Washington. The deal called for Hezbollah to halt all attacks on Israel and withdraw from areas south of the Litani River, up to 30 kilometres from the Israeli border. Pilot security zones under exclusive Lebanese army control would be established in southern Lebanon, with the army gradually assuming security responsibility. The agreement did not explicitly mention an Israeli troop withdrawal, and Israel's defence minister Israel Katz said it preserved the army's continued presence in a border 'security zone' and operational freedom.
Hezbollah's response
On Thursday, Hezbollah chief Naim Kassim read a televised statement rejecting the terms.
He said any interpretation requiring Hezbollah to stop attacks while Israeli strikes continue amounted to 'capitulation.' Kassim called on Lebanon's leadership to end direct negotiations with Israel, labelling them a 'farce' and 'humiliation.' He insisted Hezbollah supports a comprehensive ceasefire that includes an end to all Israeli attacks, withdrawal from Lebanese territory, return of the displaced, and reconstruction.The announced agreement is a roadmap to the destruction of one part of the Lebanese people and the subjugation of the other part.
Fighting continues on the ground
Even before Hezbollah's formal rejection, violence persisted. Israeli bombardment struck towns and villages in southern Lebanon overnight, while Hezbollah launched drone and rocket attacks into northern Israel. A family returning home in the south, believing the truce would hold, was killed.
They were in their house. They had left for some time because the village was threatened, but then they thought: it's safe now, we're going back.
UN peacekeeper killed
A UNIFIL peacekeeper died from wounds sustained in a mortar attack near Marjayoun in southern Lebanon late Wednesday. Two other blue helmets were injured. Israel's military said a trajectory analysis showed Hezbollah members fired the mortars that struck the UN post. UNIFIL launched an investigation and reported a 'rising number' of trajectories and impacts in the south, demanding an end to the violence.
The wider Iran dimension
The Lebanese front is increasingly a proxy arena for US-Iran pressure tactics, with negotiations over ending the broader war stalled for days. Iran has demanded any permanent ceasefire include Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to continue the offensive until Hezbollah no longer poses a threat. Israeli troops have seized roughly one-fifth of Lebanon since Hezbollah began rocket and drone attacks in solidarity with Iran days after the war started. More than 3,400 people have been killed in Lebanon since March, while around 30 have died on the Israeli side, most of them soldiers.
- War reignites: Hezbollah launches rocket and drone attacks in solidarity with Iran days after broader Iran war begins
- First ceasefire announced between Lebanese and Israeli governments; repeatedly extended but largely ineffective
- Israel and Lebanon agree in Washington on a new path to implement ceasefire, including pilot zones and Litani withdrawal
- UNIFIL peacekeeper killed in mortar attack near Marjayoun; Israel blames Hezbollah
- Hezbollah chief Naim Kassim publicly rejects the agreement, calling it a 'roadmap to destruction'
Domestic Israeli and Lebanese dynamics
Israel's police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticised the agreement as a 'serious mistake' that would strengthen Hezbollah. Defence minister Katz countered that the deal reflected 'great achievements' on military and political levels and could pave the way for a peace treaty with Lebanon. Lebanon's government, itself not a warring party, has limited influence over Hezbollah, which also represents a significant portion of the Shia population as a political party. Disarming the militia or integrating it into the official army remains a distant prospect.
