Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem has dismissed a US-brokered ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel as “illusory”, and pledged that his group would continue to respond to Israeli attacks until a comprehensive truce is achieved.
Qassem said the ceasefire – brought about by “disgraceful direct negotiations” between Lebanon and Israel – as a “road map for the annihilation of a section of the Lebanese people and the enslavement of the rest”.
The ceasefire is contingent on a complete cessation of attacks by Hezbollah and on the Iran-backed militia and “all non-state actors” withdrawing from areas south of the Litani River, according to a joint statement released by Lebanon, Israel and the US.
Lebanon and Israel also agreed to work with the US to create “pilot zones” that would be occupied by the Lebanese army.
Qassem said that for Hezbollah to withdraw Israel's military continues to occupy southern Lebanon would be “surrender, defeat and the realisation of the enemy's objectives”.
“We are concerned only with stopping the comprehensive aggression, with a ceasefire, and with Israel's withdrawal,” he added. “The ceasefire must be comprehensive. There can be no division between the south and the rest of Lebanon, nor freedom for the Israeli enemy to kill in Lebanon.”
Israel carried out strikes on at least a dozen villages in southern Lebanon on Thursday despite the ceasefire announcement.
A UN peacekeeper was killed when mortar shells struck their position on Wednesday night near Marjayoun in southern Lebanon.
Unifil said the peacekeeper died at a Beirut hospital and that an investigation into the incident had been launched. It accused Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops of firing near their positions.
“Unifil has detected an increasingly high number of trajectories and impacts in southern Lebanon. The violence must end,” a Unifil statement said.
In another incident, at least three civilians were wounded in an Israeli strike on their vehicle near Marjayoun, Lebanon's National News Agency reported.
The Israeli military said it was continuing operations against Hezbollah in villages in southern Lebanon and warned residents to “refrain from heading south of the Zahrani River until further notice”.
“The fighting in southern Lebanon continues as the [Israeli forces] continue to target Hezbollah facilities and infrastructure located in your villages and nearby,” military spokesman Lt Col Avichay Adraee said in a statement on social media.
Earlier, Lebanese Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri said there were expectations of “good news within a week”, after Beirut and Israel said they had agreed on how a ceasefire would be implemented under a US-brokered framework.
The direct Israeli-Lebanese negotiations in Washington began in April with the aim of ending the fighting, which flared up after the Iran war began in February.
Israel and Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire after the first round of talks in April, and the agreement was extended in May. However, the fighting has continued, with more than 1,200 people killed in Israeli strikes since then.
Iran insists that a halt to Israel's attacks in Lebanon must be part any peace deal it reaches with the US. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Lebanon was an “inseparable part” of any final ceasefire agreement and broader settlement to end the war, warning that Iran's armed forces are prepared to respond to any breach of the truce.
In an interview with Lebanese broadcaster Al Mayadeen, Mr Araghchi said Israel's attacks on Beirut were halted by “the power of resistance” and Iran's “firm response”, rather than US intervention.
He said any lasting agreement must address the situation in Lebanon, stressing the conflict in the country could not be considered resolved separately from wider efforts to end the war.
Mr Araghchi said the war in Lebanon would only end once Israeli forces have withdrawn.
He warned Iran's military stood ready “at any moment” to respond to any breach of the ceasefire.
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticised Wednesday's ceasefire, calling it a “serious mistake”.
“The ceasefire with Lebanon is a serious mistake and the pipe dreams of advisers who are dragging the Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu] into incorrect decisions,” he wrote on social media. He said Israel is acknowledging Hezbollah's existence, rather than defeating the group.
Mr Ben-Gvir suggested Mr Netanyahu should have rejected US wishes. “There are moments when one must know how to say no, even to the president of the United States,” he said.
