Naeem Qassem, the head of the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah in Lebanon, has given a public statement for the first time about the ceasefire with Israel.
He described this agreement as a “great victory” for Hezbollah and praised the patience of the people of Lebanon.
On Tuesday, a ceasefire agreement was reached between Israel and Hezbollah, which came into effect on Wednesday, although both sides are accusing each other of ceasefire violations.
This agreement was reached under the mediation of the US and France. Its terms state that in 60 days Hezbollah will withdraw its fighters and weapons from between the Blue Line and Israeli soldiers will withdraw from southern Lebanon in a phased manner.
What did the Hezbollah chief say
In a speech on Friday, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassim described the ceasefire as a “great victory” for the group, calling it even more important than the July 2006 victory.
Israel’s last battle with Hezbollah was in 2006.
The Hezbollah chief said, “We won because we prevented the enemy from destroying Hezbollah. We won because we prevented the resistance from being destroyed or paralyzed.”
“Our support for Palestine will not stop. We have repeatedly said that we do not want war but we want to support Gaza and if Israel imposes war, we are ready for it.”
When the agreement was announced, US President Joe Biden said that the purpose of the ceasefire was to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Thousands of Lebanese people were killed in this war and thousands of people have been displaced in both countries.
Meanwhile, on Friday, the Israeli army issued a warning to people not to return to 60 villages in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli army has released a map that shows areas several miles inside southern Lebanon.
The Israeli army has said in its warning, “Residents should not return here and anyone who returns will put himself in danger.”
Confusion in southern Lebanon
Amidst the ceasefire, both Hezbollah and Israel have accused each other of violating the agreement.
According to Lebanon’s government news agency, just two days after the ceasefire, Israeli soldiers opened fire on people gathered for the funeral in the town of Khiam near the southern Lebanon border.
An Israeli army spokesman told the news agency AFP that “in the past few hours the Israeli army has taken action against suspects in the Khiam area of southern Lebanon.”
The spokesman said, “The Israeli army will remain deployed in southern Lebanon to protect Israel.”
The Israeli army has also said that it has carried out air strikes on Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon. This is the second consecutive day of such attacks after the ceasefire.
The Israeli army said in its statement, “Mobile missile platforms and terrorist activities linked to Hezbollah were detected in southern Lebanon, after which the Air Force thwarted this threat by conducting an air strike.”
Along with the statement, the Israeli army released a video in which it can be seen that an air strike was carried out on a slow-moving truck, which was said to be a missile launcher.
Ceasefire violations
French President Emmanuel Macron has asked both sides to stop all ceasefire violations immediately.
Speaking to Lebanon’s acting Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Thursday, Macron ’emphasized the need for all parties to work together to implement the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.’
He said, “To fully implement the agreement, all violations must be stopped immediately.”
However, Nazih Eid, the mayor of Al Bisariyeh in southern Lebanon, told the news agency AFP that the area where “the Israeli army attacked is a forest area and there is no movement of civilians there.”
Lebanon’s security forces have accused Israel of continuously violating the agreement.
According to Lebanon’s state news agency, two people were injured in the Israeli attack on the border village.
On the other hand, the Israeli army said, “Suspicious people were identified going to several places in a car in southern Lebanon. This is a violation of the terms of the agreement.”
The Israeli army said in its statement that ‘Israeli soldiers fired at them. The Israeli army is still present in southern Lebanon and will remain there to prevent violations of the ceasefire agreement.’
Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy said, ‘Israel will implement this agreement forcefully and decisively. Israel has made great efforts to reach this agreement.
Israel and Hezbollah have different claims
Lebanon says that 3,961 Lebanese civilians have been killed since October 2023, most of which are from recent weeks.
According to official figures released by Israel, 82 of its soldiers and 47 civilians have been killed in the conflict with Hezbollah.
The Israeli army has given these figures in the context of the conflict with Hezbollah in the last 14 months.
The Times of Israel has quoted the army as saying that the Israeli army targeted 12,500 Hezbollah targets, including 1,600 command centers and 1,000 weapons depots.
The newspaper quoted the Israeli army as saying that 2,500 members of Hezbollah were killed in this conflict, although this number has also been estimated to go up to 3,500. Those killed also include Hezbollah’s top leader Hassan Nasrallah and 13 other top leaders.
On the other hand, Hezbollah has issued a statement saying that the “losses suffered by the enemy” in the recent past have forced it to compromise.
According to the statement, 130 Israeli soldiers were killed and more than 1250 were injured in the conflict with Hezbollah during the ground attack in Lebanon.
On the other hand, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Hezbollah to face a ‘fierce war’ in case of any violation of the ceasefire in Lebanon.
In an interview with Israeli Channel 14, Netanyahu said, “If necessary and if there is any violation of the agreement, I will order the Israeli army to launch more intense attacks.”
