Hezbollah supports efforts aimed at achieving a ceasefire in Lebanon, its top official said on Tuesday, marking the first time the group has publicly endorsed a truce and not conditioned it to stopping the war in Gaza.
“We support the political efforts led by (Parliament Speaker Nabih) Berri under the banner of achieving a ceasefire. Once the ceasefire is firmly established and diplomacy can reach it, all other details will be discussed and decisions will be made collaboratively,” Deputy Secretery General Naim Qassem said.
in his speech marking the first anniversary of Hezbollah’s involvement in the war, Qassem did not mention a Gaza ceasefire as a condition for achieving one in Lebanon.
It was Qassem’s second speech since Israel assassinated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah late last month.
Israel has since been conducting limited ground incursions into southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah, which has continued to fire rockets into northern Israel.
Despite the nod to ceasefire talks, much of Qassem’s speech on Tuesday carried a defiant tone, emphasizing Hezbollah’s readiness and capability to continue its fight against Israel. “If the enemy continues its war, then the battlefield will be decisive, and the battlefield belongs to us” he said.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib told CNN last week that Nasrallah had agreed to a temporary ceasefire that was called for by US President Joe Biden, his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and other allies during last month’s UN General Assembly. Soon after, he was assassinated by Israel.
Tzipi Hotovely, the Israeli ambassador to the UK, said in an interview with Sky News on Sunday that Nasrallah hadn’t agreed to a ceasefire and called Bou Habib’s claim “ridiculous.”
