Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem on Monday dismissed again the notion of direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, warning that such a step would amount to a political concession benefiting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump ahead of elections.
“We support indirect negotiation diplomacy,” Qassem said, but added that “as for direct negotiation, it is a free concession without fruits, and it serves Netanyahu […] and serves Trump before the midterm elections.”
In a lengthy statement, Qassem accused Israel of systematically violating the ceasefire, claiming it had breached the agreement “more than ten thousand times,” while describing the situation not as a truce but as “continuing Israeli-American aggression.”
He further argued that “Lebanon is the one being aggressed against” and insisted that any diplomatic track must first halt hostilities, stressing that “the solution will not be surrender” and rejecting what he described as efforts to impose political or military arrangements on Lebanon under pressure.
The IDF said Monday morning that it had begun carrying out strikes on Hezbollah infrastructure in several areas across southern Lebanon over what it said were repeated ceasefire violations by Hezbollah.
The announcement came shortly after the military issued an urgent warning to residents in several areas of southern Lebanon, calling for immediate evacuation due to anticipated military activity against Hezbollah targets.
Meanwhile, the IDF said Monday its troops killed 10 armed Hezbollah terrorists in a series of incidents over the past few days, after identifying them operating in close proximity to Israeli troops. The military said precise strikes were carried out to eliminate the threat.
In a separate incident, soldiers from the elite Multidimensional Unit, also known as Unit 888 or the “Ghost” Unit (Refaim), dismantled a ready-to-launch firing position and destroyed additional weapons storage sites and military infrastructure.
Overnight Monday, the Israel Air Force (IAF) struck Hezbollah infrastructure after an anti-tank missile was fired toward IDF troops. No injuries were reported, and the IDF said it quickly targeted the launch site.
Source:
www.jpost.com
